The Hedge Knight
by Angry lil' elf
Summary: The Gods are tiring of their game where the Pieces remain the same, but a new Piece enters the board changing the game. What happens when this new Piece meets a certain Piece that does not let anyone roll the Dice for it? Read and find out! Rated T for the moment, but will be bumped up to M for adult content.
1. A Roll of the Dice

The Hedge Knight

Chapter One: A Roll of the Dice

…

_For eons, the Gods of Light, Order and Fate, and the Gods of Darkness, Chaos and Chance battled for which side would rule over the world. But it was not a battle like most would think; it was instead decided through the rolls of the dice. The dice was rolled again and again, with neither side appearing to gain or lose ground. The gods were quickly becoming bored with this game as it never seemed to change. So they created the races of Men, Elves, Dwarves and Lizardmen to live in the world. Some of these races went on great adventures, but others died._

_Then, on one fateful day, a mysterious figure approached the gods. The stranger piqued the gods' interest as he came to them with an offer of making their game more interesting and to see which side would win._

_The gods were intrigued by the stranger's offer of making their eons long game more interesting and heard out the stranger._

_The stranger said that he could introduce a new piece to their board in which all the races of the world presided. This piece was from another world entirely and could tip the scales of the game._

_The gods acquiesced to the offer and allowed the stranger to place his piece on the board._

_The gods eagerly awaited what would happen when this new piece would find itself in entirely new surroundings. To decide where this piece would end up first, the gods decided as they always did; with a roll of the dice…_

…

Lying in the corridor of a dark cave, a young man with blue hair and wearing a mixture of leather and mail awoke with a gasp. Taking in sharp heaving breaths, the young man glanced around, his deep blue, almost purple eyes looked at his surroundings in panic.

"Where-where am I?!" he asked no-one in particular and his voice was ragged and panicked. There was no answer to his question.

Slowly sitting up and fighting down an urge to throw up, the young man checked his person for injuries. Nothing broken or bleeding it appeared and he didn't seem to be affected by poison, so what the hell happened to him? And how did he end up here? Wherever here was…

Wracking his memory, the boy vaguely recalled it being his seven-and-tenth nameday. He had been given some gifts when a stranger had approached him. Focussing on the memory of the stranger, the boy tried to remember what he looked like. The stranger had the silver-blonde hair and violet eyes of the Valyrian dragon-blood and he even looked familiar to him, the boy thought, like he had met the stranger before.

The stranger had spoken with him, but he could not recall the words. The stranger had then placed his hand on his head and the boy's world went black. And now, he was in a dark cave in who knows where?

Checking to see if he had any weapons on his person (it wouldn't do if he were unarmed), the boy's eyes widened when he found a weapon that he thought lost. It was a hand-and-a-half longsword, or bastard sword as it was sometimes called, with the blade dark and rippling with a thousand folds that told of a forging secret lost for centuries. The hilt was as dark, if not darker than the blade with the pommel made of obsidian carved in the shape of a dragon baring its teeth and tiny rubies for eyes. On the centre of the of the crossguard on both sides was a dragon's head with a ruby studded in the middle of the head.

Gazing at the sword in awe and wonder and wondering just how this sword came to be in his possession, the boy quietly sheathed the sword in the leather and wood scabbard on his left hip. The boy also found a dirk sheathed on his right hip and a bow made of green wood with a quiver of arrows over his back. Standing up, the boy looked around to see which direction of the corridor was the way out of this place.

Then the sound of numerous feet thundering down the passage caught the boy's attention. Squinting his eyes, the young man's eyes then widened as he saw tiny green creatures wearing smatterings of armour and wielding crudely made weapons in their stubby hands approach. The raucous jabbering and growling of these creatures didn't make them appear friendly, and their fanged grins dripped with spittle and their yellow eyes gleamed with malice.

The creatures stopped in front of the young man who put a hand to his sword out of caution. Both sides waited for the other to make the first move; perhaps these strange creatures were friendly?

Then one of the strange creatures gave a jabbering cry and threw a tiny spear; the young man instinctively avoided the spear and drew his sword with a rasp of metal scraping against leather and wood. Preparing to take a swing, the boy was distracted when his sword collided against the narrow confines of the passageway. Cursing his stupidity, the boy prepared to run, but one of the creatures stabbed him on the shoulder with its spear. Grunting in pain, the boy grabbed the offending creature and with all his might, he slammed the creature into the rock wall, crushing its small skull into fragments and blood and brain dripped onto the stony floor.

Taking offence, the other creatures rushed forward growling and jabbering angrily. Three of them leapt onto the boy and the boy kicked, punched and bit furiously, desperate not to die in this gods' forsaken cave.

Then a light illuminated the tunnel and the three creatures who had tackled the young man lost their heads. The other creatures all screamed and wailed in fear and fled down the corridor.

"That's three!" said a calm raspy stoic voice.

Looking up to see who it was that saved him, the boy's purple-blue eyes widened when he saw what he assumed to be a knight. The knight wore a mixture of leather, chainmail and a chest piece made into three parts. A visored helm was on the knight's head obscuring his face and two brokens, one on either side, were also seen. The knight held in one hand a simple shortsword and strapped to his other arm was a small targe and torch was held by said arm.

"Thank you!" the young man blurted out to the knight gratefully. "If you hadn't come along when you did," he said.

The knight dug out from a small pack a bottle filled with green liquid. "Drink this," said the knight.

"What for?"

"Goblins sometimes dip their weapons in poison."

"Shit!" the boy hurriedly took the bottle from the knight's hand, uncorked it and downed the liquid, his face scrunching up in disgust at the taste. "My thanks, ser," the young man said to his unexpected saviour.

"Are you here to kill the goblins?" the knight asked.

"Goblins?" repeated the young man in confusion.

"Those creatures that attacked you. Are you here to kill them?" the knight said.

"I… I don't know how I got here!" replied the young man. "Those… things… goblins you called them? What business are they to you?" he enquired.

"I am the Goblin Slayer," replied the knight stoically. "I kill goblins!" he said.

The Goblin Slayer then looked at the young man and said to him, "The exit's that way," he said indicating behind him with a jerk of his helmeted head before walking further down the corridor.

"Wait! You're going after those things? What if they have a trap set!?" asked the young man.

"They likely do. I'll make sure to spring it," replied the Goblin Slayer stoically.

The young man stared after the Goblin Slayer before standing up and following after him. Goblin Slayer looked at him and said, "You're coming with me?" he asked tilting his head slightly.

"You saved my life! The least I can do is make sure you don't get killed!" replied the young man stubbornly.

Goblin Slayer seemed to consider this and said, "What weapons do you have?" he asked.

"I have these," replied the young man indicating his sword, dirk and bow.

Goblin Slayer then said, "Your sword is too long for confines like this. Use your dirk," he advised. "Do you have a shield?" he asked next.

The young man then pried a shield from on the dead goblins and said, "I do now!"

"What's your name?" Goblin Slayer asked.

"Aegon," replied the young man. "What's yours?" he asked.

Goblin Slayer tilted his head and said, "I already told you. Goblin Slayer."

Aegon looked at the man in confusion, "Your name is Goblin Slayer?" he said in disbelief, but then he heard some words in his head.

"_The people of this world do not have names as such, only titles," _the mysterious voice said.

"Right, titles only," Aegon said to himself before he looked at Goblin Slayer and said to him, "Well, I suppose you can call me… Hedge Knight, I guess," he announced.

"Let's go," Goblin Slayer said quickly before heading back down the corridor after the goblins.

"Hmph, not much for small talk," Aegon muttered as he drew his dirk and followed the man. Following after Goblin Slayer, Aegon decide to ask for some information on goblins.

"So, apart from poison, what else can you tell em about goblins?" Aegon asked the stoic man.

"If you see a goblin wearing a headdress and wielding a staff, kill him first!" Goblin Slayer said. "There are also Hobgoblins; much larger than regular goblins and strong as well, kill them quickly as well," he added.

"So goblin shamans and hob-goblins are leaders to goblins?" Aegon said as he stored the information away in his head for future reference.

"Yes. Killing the shaman and any Hobgoblins will break the morale of goblins," Goblin Slayer replied.

_Guess when your name is Goblin Slayer, you must be pretty knowledgeable on killing goblins,_ Aegon thought to himself.

"And don't leave any goblins alive. Not even the children," Goblin Slayer then said.

"Not even the children?" Aegon asked a little surprised at such cruelty.

"Yes. Goblin children learn from their parents' mistakes and carry their grudges well into adulthood," Goblin Slayer replied. "When you exterminate something, you kill it at the root so as not to let it grow back," he said.

"But, to kill children…"

"If you don't want to do this, then turn around and leave. I can handle it from here," Goblin Slayer said calmly.

Aegon spoke, "No! I want to help!" he protested. "I'm not sure about killing children, but I still want to help!" he said.

"Very well then," Goblin Slayer said nodding his helmeted head.

As the passage began to gently decline, the jabbers and yowls of goblins made themselves heard. Goblin Slayer and Aegon stopped. "How many do you think there are?" Aegon asked the armoured warrior.

"A few. No more than a dozen, but they may have a Shaman or a Hob," Goblin Slayer replied. Kneeling down, Goblin Slayer pulled something from the bag on his waist. Aegon was surprised to see the armoured man laying down a beartrap.

"A beartrap? What on earth is that for?"

"It's for the Hob," Goblin Slayer said. "We'll run into the den, kill a few and draw the Hob into chasing us. We lure the Hob into the beartrap then kill it," he explained.

"And then?" Aegon asked.

"You'll see," replied Goblin Slayer.

Setting the beartrap, Goblin Slayer looked at Aegon and asked him, "Ready?" Aegon nodded reluctantly, his grip tightening on his dirk. "Let's go!" Goblin Slayer said and he set off at a run with Aegon following, both taking care to step over the beartrap.

Reaching the dimly lit cavern, Aegon saw the goblins jabbering and growling in their strange guttural incomprehensible language, if it could be called that. One a crude throne made of bones, a goblin wearing a feather headdress waved a wooden staff with a bird skull set into it. Standing near the throned goblin was a much larger goblin that was near twice the height of Aegon. Aegon surmised them to be the shaman and the hobgoblin respectively.

Goblin Slayer killed two goblins in rapid succession saying, "That's five!"

Aegon smashed his salvaged shield into one goblin before stabbing another in the throat and said, "Seven!"

The Shaman gave a jabbering shout and the hobgoblin hefted a wooden club that was more like a log than an actual weapon. The large goblin was surprisingly fast much to Aegon's dismay.

"Lure it back up the passage!" Goblin Slayer ordered as he ran back up the passage they came. Aegon sprinted after the warrior as the hob swung its wooden log, narrowly missing Aegon's head by inches.

Aegon's heart was pounding from adrenaline and exertion as he heard the deeper roars of the hobgoblin, followed by the cacophony of its smaller brethren following behind it. Reaching the entrance and jumping over the beartrap and spinning around to await the coming horde, Aegon said to Goblin Slayer, "Well, plan worked! Now what?" he asked.

"Wait and see," Goblin Slayer replied.

Then the hobgoblin came thundering into view and its then fell in to the beartrap. With a loud clang and crunch, the beartrap jaws nearly severed the hobgoblin's foot. The creature roared in pain as it fell to the ground and Goblin Slayer thrust his shortsword into the creature's back through its heart.

"Is that it?!" Aegon yelled in disbelief.

"Not quite," Goblin Slayer said as he dug through his bag again and brought out an earthenware jar, opened it and poured out some kind of liquid that had a strong scent. Aegon asked, "Water?" Raising an eyebrow in confusion as to what Goblin Slayer was doing, Aegon looked at the man in askance.

"Gasoline," replied Goblin Slayer as he soused the creature in the strong-smelling fluid. Before Aegon could ask what gasoline was, Goblin Slayer then shoved the hobgoblin down the passageway with a push of his boot. The corpse of the hobgoblin rolled down the passageway like an errant boulder and the screams of the goblins that had been trailing behind the hobgoblin were heard as its body rolled into them.

Goblin Slayer then threw his torch down the passageway. A small flash of light and the sudden smell of burning flesh filled Aegon's nostrils. "I see now!" he breathed softly. "You soused that hob and rolled it into its kin so that they'd be covered in that, gasoline you called it? And then set them all on fire!" he exclaimed.

"Yes. It's one way of killing goblins effectively," Goblin Slayer said. "But I can only afford one jar of gasoline at a time, so I have to be careful with it," he added.

"Well, it worked!" Aegon remarked.

"Come on. There should only be a few and the shaman left," Goblin Slayer said. Aegon nodded and they went down the passageway and passed the burning bodies of the hobgoblin and its smaller ilk. Now, there were only six goblins left, including the shaman.

"You said the shaman was top priority, yes?" Aegon asked Goblin Slayer who nodded. Picking up a goblin spear, Aegon hefted the small crude weapon and flung it with all his strength at the shaman, which to its credit, grabbed one of its followers. The goblin spear skewered the hapless body shield through the heart. The goblin shaman pointed its staff at Aegon and began chanting in its strange tongue. The shaman's staff began to glow brightly; realising the imminent threat, Aegon leapt out of the way as a bolt of lightning shot towards him.

Getting back to his feet hurriedly, Aegon then set on killing the goblins guarding the shaman. Goblin Slayer killed the other three. With quick stabs of his dirk, Aegon killed the two in front of him. The Shaman began chanting again, but Aegon grabbed the creature by the neck and slammed its head into the cave wall. Once, twice, three times Aegon slammed the shaman's tiny head against the rock wall until its head broke and blood and brain coated Aegon's hands.

Breathing heavily, Aegon slowly sat down and panted hard. The situation had been very tense since waking up in this cave, wherever it was. Goblin Slayer then walked up to Aegon and said to him, "Good work."

Aegon looked up at the armoured warrior and replied, "Thank you, it was the least I could do," he said as he stood back on his feet and looked at his bloody hands in disgust. "Erg… I'm going to be washing my hands for hours!" he muttered in disgust. Goblin Slayer didn't say anything as he walked up to the throne the shaman had been sitting and moved it aside to reveal a hidden door. Opening it, Goblin Slayer peered inside it.

"They haven't spawned. Good," the armoured warrior said.

Aegon looked at the warrior and asked, "Aren't you being a little cruel?"

"I told you before, goblin children learn from their parents' mistakes and they mightn't be smart, but they hold onto grudges and remember those who wronged them," Goblin Slayer replied. "You can't show mercy to any goblin, as they'll just take advantage of it and those you love will suffer for it," he said grimly.

"Well, you're the expert," Aegon murmured faintly. "Now you said something about an exit?" he asked changing the subject.

"Yes. Follow me."

Leading Aegon up to the surface, Goblin Slayer then said to him, "Thank you for your help."

"It was no trouble, you saved my life down there," Aegon replied modestly. "But, now I don't know what to do, or where to go," he said lamely.

Goblin Slayer tilted his head slightly considering what Aegon said before speaking. "You can come with me to the Guild if you want," he offered.

"Guild? What Guild?" Aegon asked in confusion.

"The Adventurers' Guild. It's where I go to get Goblin slaying jobs," replied Goblin Slayer. "You can register as an adventurer there and take jobs of your own," he said.

"And they all involve slaying goblins?" Aegon deadpanned.

"No. I'm usually the one who takes those jobs," Goblin Slayer said stoically.

"Why?" Aegon asked.

"Because if I don't, goblins will continue plaguing the world. That isn't a reason for them to live," Goblin Slayer said.

Aegon thought about it for a moment before saying, "Very well then. Let's head to this Guild," he said.

Goblin Slayer nodded and they both then headed away from the goblin cave towards a nearby village where they boarded a carriage that would take them to another village where the Guild was.

Goblin Slayer and Aegon rested in the carriage. Goblin Slayer appeared to be asleep, although it was hard to tell with his helm covering his entire head. Aegon rested on his back, thinking over how he found himself in this world.

_Don't know how I came to this land, but better than being dead, right?_ Aegon thought to himself. _I guess… I guess I'll just deal with this as I go and try to find a way back home,_ he said inside his mind as he closed his eyes and fell asleep to the sound of the carriage wheels rolling along the road and the thudding hoofbeats of the horse pulling the carriage.

…

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

**A/N: There, the first chapter of this done and dusted. I'd been planning this fic for a while, but I hadn't the time or motivation to sit and write it. I do apologise if this chapter is a little short, but it was the best I could do without half-assing it. This story takes some inspiration from the Goblin Slayer/Red Dead Redemption crossover The Gunslinger. I called my story the Hedge Knight for a couple of reasons, one being that a hedge knight is a fairly common profession in Westeros. The second reason being that it is a reference to George RR Martin's other ASOIAF story A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms where it was adapted into a graphic novel called The Hedge Knight following the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire, Aegon V Targaryen, or as they are both known, Dunk and Egg. The third reason is because the title sounds a lot better than calling Aegon/Young Griff something the Squire like a friend of mine tried to convince me to do, so to that friend of mine, a thousand apologies if the title isn't to your liking.**

**Anyways, not much more to say, but I do have another story cooking up in my noggin. It's another Game of Thrones/ASOIAF crossover and this time it will cross over into Highschool of the Dead, although I'm still working on how to make that one work. MC will be Aegon/Young Griff of course and I've set up a voting poll of which girl he could possibly be with. Fingers crossed it's Saeko Busujima! The idea will also cross over into Witcher and Fallout as I have some ideas, but we'll see how it goes.**

**So, that's about it from me, let me know what you all think of this and leave a review if you liked it. If you didn't, tell me what I can to do to make it better. But if you don't have anything nice to say, the exit's that way (^_^)**

**Be kind to one another everyone,**

**Angry lil' elf.**


	2. Welcome to the Guild

**The Hedge Knight**

…

**Chapter 2: Welcome to the Guild**

"So, this is Frontier Town?" Aegon asked as he dismounted the horse lent to him by the villagers that had asked Goblin Slayer to slay the goblins. Years spent in one form of village or another had Aegon appreciating the quiet life of villagers. Frontier Town was big enough but it lacked the bustle of some cities like Pentos or the other Free Cities. The town seemed to have all the amenities that most who lived there required, but there were also some other shops that Aegon couldn't identify. There was also a prominent building that Goblin Slayer was walking towards.

"Yes. The Guild is this way," said Goblin Slayer and Aegon followed after the strange quiet armoured man. Aegon also noted some of the villagers giving him or rather Goblin Slayer odd looks, or perhaps they were both looking at him and Goblin Slayer? Opting to ignore the stares, Aegon followed Goblin Slayer into the building where various people, men and women, wearing an assortment of armour and weaponry milled about, either conversing or drinking. At a large front desk was a blonde haired woman with golden hazel eyes wearing a white shirt with a blue vest and a frilly tie about her neck writing something down on a piece of parchment. The young woman looked up and saw Goblin Slayer and Aegon entering the building.

"Ah! Goblin Slayer! You're back!" the young woman exclaimed happily before she looked at Aegon and said, "Oh, who is this? A friend?" she asked Goblin Slayer.

"Hey. He's not a friend, he's someone I rescued from the goblins," said Goblin Slayer stoically.

"Oh, I'm glad to see someone was spared their abuse," the young woman said and she looked at Aegon and said to him, "Who might you be? Are you an adventurer?"

"I'm… Hedge Knight," replied Aegon using his title. "And I'm more a wanderer than anything," he said.

"Really? How did you end up in a goblin cave then?" the young woman asked.

"I… don't know," said Aegon. "I just woke up there and was nearly killed by the goblins when Goblin Slayer showed up and saved me. I helped him in return," he explained.

"Oh, dear! Are you suffering the effects of a spell or curse?" the young woman asked in concern.

"I don't really know," said Aegon in a half-truth. "I think I have some kind of… memory loss… I can only remember my name and a few other things," he added.

"Oh, dear! Well, it's a good thing Goblin Slayer found you when he did," said the young woman. "But where are my manners? I'm Guild Girl," she added with a bright smile.

"A pleasure to meet you, my lady," replied Aegon. "Is this some sort of mercenary guild?" he asked looking around.

"This is an Adventurers Guild," said Guild Girl. "Oh, before I forget!" she quickly added before pulling out from under the desk a pouch that jingled with coins. "Here you are, Goblin Slayer. Thank you for your hard work," she said to the armoured man who took quietly before opening it and pulled a handful of gold, silver and copper coins. Offering the coins to Aegon, Goblin Slayer said to him, "Here. Your cut."

Aegon blinked in surprise. "Are you sure?" he asked the man.

"You killed a few of the goblins and helped make it easy for me. You've earned it," said Goblin Slayer.

"Well, if you're certain," said Aegon taking the coins and putting them into his satchel. '_Not like I had anything to start with' _he thought to himself quietly.

"Are there any other goblin quests?" Goblin Slayer then asked Guild Girl who gave a start and said, "Already? But you just got back!" she exclaimed.

"Hedge Knight made it easy. I can do another," said Goblin Slayer.

Guild Girl sighed before saying, "Well, there is another goblin quest; a small one but I won't let you do another after that!" she said sternly. "Oh, and your paperwork?" she asked as Goblin Slayer turned to leave the building.

"I'll fill out when I get back," Goblin Slayer said without looking at Guild Girl and left the building. The young woman sighed tiredly and murmured, "What am I going to do with him?"

"Man's a charming fellow, isn't he?" Aegon remarked drily having watched the exchange.

Guild Girl's cheeks were tinted red and Aegon surmised that Guild Girl must have feelings for the armoured adventurer, or at least cared about him. "Y-Yes, he's a bit of a handful, I'll admit," Guild Girl said reluctantly.

"Sounds like he is," Aegon said with a boyish grin. "But he seems a good man," he added.

"He is. Even though others like to look down on him," Guild Girl said forlornly.

"Why would they look down on him?" asked Aegon. "He's a little strange I'll admit, but he doesn't mad or dangerous," he said.

"I know, but there are reasons why most adventurers look down on Goblin Slayer," replied Guild Girl before sighing and said, "But enough about that. What can I do to help you?" she asked with a cheery smile.

"Well… I was wondering if someone could… help fill me on in… everything," Aegon said. "Like I said I woke up in a goblin cave with barely any memory. I didn't know what a goblin was until they attacked me," he added.

"Well, I'll be off my shift in an hour," said Guild Girl. "If you want to wait here, I can help explain everything to you?' she offered.

"That's very kind of you, but I don't want to take too much of your time," replied Aegon.

"Well, how about a trade?" Guild Girl suggested. "If you could help me fill in Goblin Slayer's report, giving your details of the quest, I can help you learn about this place. Sound fair?" she asked.

"I take it Goblin Slayer isn't one to fill out paperwork?" Aegon jested.

"He'll do the reports when I ask, just not in a timely manner," Guild Girl said with a girlish giggle.

"Very well. I'll be happy to," Aegon said with a grin.

After going over the paperwork, giving his version of events in the goblin cave, Aegon was then directed to the tavern side of the guild where Guild Girl asked him to wait until she got off shift. Entering the tavern, Aegon walked up to the bar and placed a silver coin on the countertop and said, "A pint of ale, if you have it."

"Coming right up!" said the barman who quickly filled a pewter pint of frothing ale and placed it front of Aegon who lifted it to his lips and took a sip.

"Mmm, not bad," said Aegon after a sip. "Thought it might be horse piss," he added with a jesting smile at the barman who smiled back.

"Right? I thought the same before I tried it!" said a loud jovial voice. Aegon looked to see a tall young man with strawberry blonde hair wearing ornate blue armour with gold trims and holding a spear with a large triangular blade. "I'll have the same," the young man said to the barman. The barman poured another pint and placed in front of the man who took a long draft of it and smacked his lips.

"Ah! Nothing like a pint of ale after a long day," said the young man before he looked at Aegon and said, "So, who are you? Are you a new member of the guild?" he asked.

"Not exactly," said Aegon. "I'm more a wanderer, I just happened to get saved by an adventurer, that's all," he added. "I'm Hedge Knight," he then said introducing himself sticking out a hand to shake.

"Spearman, silver ranked and Strongest on the Frontier!" boasted the spear wielding warrior shaking hands with Aegon.

"Quite the boast," Aegon commented. "How do you compare to Goblin Slayer?" he asked

Spearman's eye twitched and he said, "Goblin Slayer? How do you know that stiff?" he demanded.

"He saved my life in a goblin cave," replied Aegon. "Do you know him?" he asked.

"Tch! Course I know him! Nearly everyone knows that weirdo!" Spearman grunted.

"Weirdo? I'll admit he's a little quiet, but he doesn't seem that odd," said Aegon. "Why is he such a weirdo?" he asked.

"He's a silver ranked adventurer, but all he does is go after goblins!" Spearman said. "I mean, I know that's his name, but most guys his rank would go after bigger game than those weak vermin!" he added.

"Well, goblins seem weak, but they're dangerous enough and they travel in big groups from what I saw," Aegon replied. "Are you sure that's the only reason you don't like him?" he asked Spearman who gave a startled movement as though he had been caught out on something.

"Tch! He's just a weirdo!" the spear-wielder muttered grumpily. Aegon suppressed a smile as he took a sip of his ale; he guessed it had something to do with a woman, maybe Guild Girl.

The a soft alluring voice intruded. "Hello… there," said the voice.

Aegon looked to see a beautiful woman with long purple hair, a large poined hat on her head and wearing a revealing outfit that revealed her voluptuous body that made her seem all the more alluring.

"Eh, good day to you, my lady," said Aegon introducing himself. "I'm Hedge Knight," he introduced himself to the woman who smiled and replied, "I am… known as… Witch," she said speaking in a manner Aegon didn't recognise.

"Hey. Just about done with your errands?" Spearman said to Witch who nodded and replied, "Yes. I am… ready… to go," she said with a soft smile. "Who is… your new… friend?" she then asked Spearman looking at Aegon.

"Just a new drinking buddy I made," replied Spearman casually. "He got rescued by the weirdo," he said.

"Ah… Goblin Slayer… yes?" Witch said looking at Aegon with mirth in her golden eyes.

"Yes. I woke up in a goblin cave and Goblin Slayer found and rescued me," Aegon said.

"Very… fortunate… he found… you," said Witch. "Goblins… aren't… known… for restraint," she added.

"Yes. I'm very lucky so far," replied Aegon.

"So, Hedge Knight, huh?" Spearman said giving Aegon a once over. "What kind of weaponry do you carry around?" he asked him.

"Just these," said Aegon tapping his dirk, goldenhart bow and Blackfyre in turn.

"Hmm, dirk and bow seem fairly standard, but your sword doesn't look like anything that anyone carries around," Spearman remarked. "How did you get it?" he asked.

"It's a family heirloom and that's about all I remember of it when I woke up," replied Aegon.

"Interesting," Witch murmured as she looked at the Valyrian steel sword on Aegon's hip.

"Well, if you ever want a sparring match, feel free to look me up," Spearman said. "It'll help if you learn from the Strongest!" he bragged.

"I'll keep that mind, Ser Spearman," Aegon said with an amused smile.

"Anyway, we have to get going, don't we?" Spearman said to Witch finishing off his ale.

"Yes… we have… a ways… to go," agreed Witch nodding her head. "be… seeing you," she then said giving Aegon a flirty wink who smiled fighting down a blush. Spearman then said his goodbyes and he and Witch then left the tavern. Aegon chucked briefly before finishing off his ale.

"This place is just full of characters!"

…

Aegon set down the heavy tome in his lap and rubbed his tired eyes. There was a lot about this world he had to read about, and he felt he only made a fraction of learning it so far. Everything from the various races that roamed this world and the creatures that they fought, to the gods that decided everything through the rolls of the dice. It seemed all very convoluted and Aegon could barely make sense of it all.

One major thing that kept coming up was a Demon Lord and his generals that arose every so often to try and take over the world. The last time the Demon Lord arose was ten years but was defeated by a party of Adventurers led by someone named the Lord.

Aegon rubbed his tired eyes again and lay back on his new bed in his room in the guild. When Guild Girl asked him if he had anywhere where he could stay, Aegon admitted he didn't have anywhere to stay the night.

Guild Girl then came up with a solution; she offered to give Aegon membership entry into the Guild using the grounds of helping Goblin Slayer to allow him entry. Aegon was surprised how quickly it happened and he was given a tag made of porcelain and told of the ranking system and that Goblin Slayer himself was Silver Ranked, the third highest rank and the highest being Platinum. Aegon was then told that being a member of the Adventurers Guild would allow him to take on quests for payment and seeing how he needed money, Aegon accepted the offer of becoming an adventurer.

Soon after, Aegon was given a room in the guild that he could pay for with money from quests and that tomorrow morning, the quests would be posted. Aegon lay back on his bed, closing his eyes wondering just how he came to this strange world and what his purpose being here was.

Pushing the thought from his mind, Aegon slowly drifted off to sleep.

…

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

**A/N: There, the second chapter of this done and dusted! I apologise for it being so short, but I couldn't think of a good note to end this chapter on, so I decided to leave it here. Hopefully the next chapter will be much longer and have some more action in it and not just filler.**

**In other news, I've finally decided to try my hand at writing a Game of Thrones/Elder Scrolls crossover. I have written a GoT/ES one-shot of the Ebony Warrior fighting for Tyrion Lannister during the trial by combat against the Mountain with the EW decimating the Mountain easily and it was well received by most and it's encouraged me to write a full-length crossover.**

**Now the story will feature Aegon VI and it will also include Rhaenys Targaryen/Martell as I'm taking some inspiration from my Witcher/GoT crossover. I'm still deciding whether to make Aegon and Rhaenys Dragonborn or not or to have the Dragonborn as a separate character. So far, most people are saying the Dragonborn should be a separate character which seems like a good idea to me, but we'll see how it goes. I have set up a romance poll for Aegon and once I feel it's high enough, I'll set one up for Rhaenys and see that one goes. I kinda imagine my version of Rhaenys being very similar to her uncle Oberyn Martell the red Viper of Dorne in her… 'appetites' so her romance poll will be a mixture of male and female characters whereas Aegon's poll is females only.**

**My GoT/ES will also cross over into Fallout so there's some Fallout girls on the romance poll as well, and there's also some OCs I've made, so feel free to leave your two cents. So far, the lead on the poll is tied between Arianne Martell and Aela the Huntress which I'm totally cool with either :-D.**

**But anyways, I'm rambling, so I'll just leave this here and let me know what you all thought of this chapter so far and if there's anything about the Goblin Slayer lore I should or anything that can be put in, feel free to leave that in your review or PM it to me :-D**

**Be kind to one another,**

**Angry lil' elf.**


	3. A Questing We Shall Go

**The Hedge Knight**

**Chapter 3: A Questing We Shall Go**

…

Aegon watched as Guild Girl made the announcement of today's quests. A large crowd of adventurers queued to look at the quests available. Deciding to wait until he could get through, Aegon decided to wait in the tavern where he ordered a simple meal of cracked wheat and milk porridge. After eating and paying for his meal, Aegon went back to the posting board and saw that the crowd had dispersed. There were still some quests available thankfully.

Taking a look at the quests, Aegon gave an annoyed sigh as he realised that most of the quests that were good paying ones had been taken. A lot of the quests that were left were just simple labour. Aegon wasn't opposed to doing some simple labour but he didn't want to be paid next to nothing for it.

"Something wrong, Mister Hedge Knight?" Guild Girl asked. Aegon gave an apologetic smile before replying, "Apologies, milady. I mean no offence. Just a little annoyed that some of the good paying quests have already been taken," he said.

Guild Girl nodded her head and said, "Yeah, it is first come, first serve. But there are still some quests available," she said.

"There are, but they don't pay as well," Aegon said. "A question, if you'll permit me: even though I'm porcelain ranked, could I take higher ranking quests?" he asked.

"I can't allow a low ranking adventurer such as a porcelain rank take on higher ranked quests, unless you're in a party with a higher ranked adventurer," Guild Girl said. "It's more for everyone's safety, but even that has problems," she added sadly.

"How so?"

Guild Girl sighed before explaining. "A lot of creatures and monsters such as Goblins are often treated as minimal threats, but the system doesn't take into account just how dangerous such things truly are, so things goblins are treated as low ranking quests and that leads to a lot of unnecessary deaths of new adventurers," she said looking a little sad and angry at the system's short sightedness.

"So the system is basically broken," Aegon said. "How many adventurers do you lose to things like that?" he asked.

"More than I want to admit," Guild Girl said sadly before adding, "Even though most people look down on Goblin Slayer, he's saved a lot of villages from the threat of goblins and spared people from their terrible abuse," she added softly.

Aegon nodded his head in understanding before looking back at the board, scanning it for a quest that would be worth doing. Then the fronts swung open and walking was Goblin Slayer.

"Oh, good morning, Goblin Slayer!" Guild Girl greeted the armoured man brightly, her mood much happier. "Did you sleep in?" she enquired sweetly.

"No. Had some errands to run first," Goblin Slayer replied before noticing Aegon standing at the board. "Hey," he greeted him.

"Ah, hello, Ser Goblin Slayer," Aegon replied. "Surprised to see me?" he asked.

"A little," Goblin Slayer admitted. "Are you an adventurer now?" he asked.

"Aye, I am now, thanks to you and Lady Guild Girl," said Aegon. "Just looking for a quest at the moment," he added.

"I see." Goblin Slayer nodded his head before looking at the quest board before noticing a goblin quest.

"A goblin quest?" Aegon asked the armoured man who nodded before saying to Guild Girl, "I'll take this one," he said stoically.

Aegon thought about it for before speaking. "Excuse me, but how much does that quest pay?" he asked Guild Girl asked.

"Oh, a few gold coins, why?" Guild Girl said.

"Gotta make some money, don't I?" Aegon said before he looked at Goblin Slayer and said to him, "Would you require some assistance with this quest?" he asked him.

"Mister Hedge Knight!" Guild Girl asked in shock. "It's too dangerous for someone of your rank!" she protested.

"I'd rather get a start working with someone who knows what they're doing," Aegon replied calmly. "And who better to teach me, really?" he said gesturing to Goblin Slayer.

"No."

Aegon looked at Goblin Slayer and asked him, "Why not?"

"Your sword is too long for small confines like a goblin cave," said Goblin Slayer. "And with the numbers of goblins we'll need a quiet approach," he added.

"Well, lucky for you I've been trained in most kinds of weapons, so I can manage with something like a hand-axe or even a short sword," Aegon said confidently. "Can even throw knives fairly well too," he added.

Goblin Slayer tilted his helmeted head before pulling out of the throwing knives on his belt and said, "Show me."

Aegon took the knife, getting a feel of the weight before flipping it over to hold by the blade and with a swing of his arm, the knife flew from his hand and into the wall. Guild Girl made a small "eep!" of surprise and ducked behind the desk before poking her head back out again.

"Ehh… sorry about the wall," Aegon apologised to her before looking at Goblin Slayer. "So, we going?" he asked.

"Yeah."

…

The first stop they made was the local blacksmith's shop to purchase some extra gear for both Aegon and Goblin Slayer. The Blacksmith, a stout man with greying hair and beard looked up from his work. "Ah, you again!" he snorted looking at Goblin Slayer before looking at Aegon and said, "And who's this?" he asked rudely.

"Just someone looking to help Goblin Slayer with a job," Aegon replied easily. "You got any short weapons, like hand-axes or short swords?" he asked the Blacksmith.

"Tch! Whaddya take me for?" the Blacksmith snapped out. "If you don't want anything fancy, you can find what ya need over there," he said, pointing to a rack of simple looking weapons like hatchets and shortswords.

"Thanks," Aegon said to the grumpy old man before looking over the selection of weaponry.

"You'll need a helmet as well," Goblin Slayer said to Aegon. "To prevent goblins from hitting you in the head," he explained.

Aegon nodded before looking at the Blacksmith and asked, "Got any decent helmets?"

"Yeah, I got a few in stock," the old man said gesturing to another rack where a variety of helmets were on display. Picking a simple but well-made hatchet and a half-helm, Aegon then asked Goblin Slayer, "What about shields? Will I need one?"

"Yeah. Something small," came Goblin Slayer's reply. Aegon looked at the Blacksmith who nodded, "Aye, I got some small shields in stock. Take yer pick," he said.

Looking over the selection of small shields, Aegon chose a round buckler shield and paid for his purchases. Goblin Slayer made some purchases as well before leaving the shop.

"So, anything else we need?" Aegon asked the man who replied, "I need to see the Alchemist."

"What for?"

"To purchase some gasoline."

"Gasoline? Ah, that liquid you used to set the goblins on fire?" Goblin Slayer nodded his head. "How much are you going to buy?" Aegon asked.

"No more than a flask. I can't afford any more than that," Goblin Slayer said.

Aegon had a thoughtful look on his face before saying, "What about alcohol instead?" he suggested.

"Alcohol?" Goblin Slayer tilted his head in confusion.

"Yes, strong liquor. You could use that to set goblins on fire and it's much cheaper to buy, I would think," replied Aegon.

Goblin Slayer nodded his head in understanding before saying, "The general store sells alcohol," he said.

"Perfect! Let's go!" Aegon gave a grin.

…

A day later, just as the sun was beginning to set, two goblins stood guard at the entrance of a cave. Their brethren were enjoying themselves inside, passing around some of the females they had kidnapped from the nearby village earlier. The two resented being excluded from the fun, but their time would come as the nearby village would soon be put to the torch and the livestock would be eaten and the many desirable females would be theirs to do with as they pleased.

A slight rustling in the bushes caught the two guards' attention, then two sharp whistles of air were heard and two arrows came flying out, and each arrow hit the goblins in their foreheads, piercing their skulls and skewering their brains. Both fell dead without a sound.

"Alright, first step complete," Aegon whispered quietly as he and Goblin Slayer came out from hiding. "Now for the next step. Gotta lure them out here," he said.

"Yes. Goblin sentries carry horns in case of intruders," Goblin Slayer said as he searched the goblin guards and produced a curled hollowed out ram horn.

"Alright then. Let's pull these bastards out a little further before sounding the alarm," Aegon said. "You'll know when enough of them come out?" he asked Goblin Slayer who nodded in response.

"Let's get to it then!" Dragging the bodies of the guards out further from the entrance, Aegon and Goblin Slayer then hid behind some rocks on either side of the cave entrance. Pulling out a bottle of potent alcohol that they had purchased from the general store, Aegon opened the bottle and stuffed an oiled rag into it, and saw Goblin Slayer do the same with his own. Then using his tinderbox, Aegon lit the rag and gave a nod to Goblin Slayer who sounded the goblin horn. A deep resonating sound issued out from the horn. A minute later, a group of goblins came rushing out, jabbering and screeching angrily, waving their weapons. Aegon quickly counted and saw about twenty or so goblins so far. The goblins approached the corpses of the guards cautiously. Waiting for Goblin Slayer to give the signal, Aegon readied his fire-bottle.

Goblin Slayer then stepped out from his hiding spot and Aegon stepped out from his. Flinging the bottle with all his might, Aegon watched as the bottle exploded into flames and glass splinters, engulfing the goblins who all screeched in surprise and agony. Goblin Slayer threw his own bottle, adding more fuel to the growing flames. A few goblins were still alive but were trying to beat out the flames that had caught on their clothing and armour. Drawing Blackfyre and readying his buckler, Aegon walked forward as Goblin Slayer drew his shortsword and together they began to kill the goblins that hadn't been caught in the fire. It was relatively easy to do, it was basically clean-up and soon, the goblins were dispatched and the flames died out.

"That went well," Aegon said wiping the blade of Blackfyre with a clean rag before sheathing the Valyrian blade and saying, "What's next?"

"Now we go in and take care of any goblins that didn't come out," replied Goblin Slayer as he thrust his sword into a barely alive goblin that was twitching, snuffing out its life quickly.

"How many do you think are left?" Aegon asked as he drew the hatchet he bought from the Blacksmith and felt the weight of it in his hand.

"No more than a dozen or so," Goblin Slayer answered.

"Any chance we can lure them out here?"

"Not likely. The Shaman will keep them with him in a defensive position."

"Well, let's go in and greet them then."

Lighting a torch from a still burning goblin corpse, Goblin Slayer and Aegon ventured into the cave. Despite the torch's best efforts, the light didn't quite light up the dark interior of the cave. "Keep an eye out. There could be some side passages for goblins to come out and ambush us from," Goblin Slayer warned and Aegon nodded in understanding and he kept an out on the sides of the cave passage for any signs of goblins.

Making their way further in, a shadow detached itself from the wall and moved towards Aegon and Goblin Slayer. Out of the corner of his eye, Aegon noticed and shouted, "Look out!" Raising his buckler shield, Aegon blocked a strike but the force behind the attack knocked him to the ground. Aegon scrambled to his feet and saw a hobgoblin in the torch's light and Goblin Slayer thrusting his sword into the creature's stomach. Wounded, the hobgoblin swung out a fist at Goblin Slayer who pulled back and raised his targe to defend. With a growl, Aegon flung his hatchet at the hob and scored a direct hit on its head. The blade of the small axe bit deep into the creature's skull making it give a gurgle of pain as it fell to its knees and Goblin Slayer thrust his sword into its heart. Pulling the hatchet free, Goblin Slayer handed the weapon back to Aegon and said to him, "Well done."

"Thanks," replied Aegon before rubbing his back. "Just wish I saw it sooner though," he said in annoyance.

"It happens. The darkness hid its presence well," said Goblin Slayer and they continued on. As they went further in, Goblin Slayer suddenly stopped making Aegon stop as well. Aegon opened his mouth to voice a question when the shuffling of feet alerted. Goblin Slayer pulled one of the throwing knives from his belt and suddenly tossed it into the darkness. A sudden yell of pain came out from the darkness and Aegon and Goblin Slayer walked forward to see a small goblin giving a dying groan as there was a knife embedded in its stomach. Goblin Slayer quickly dispatched the miserable creature with a thrust to the heart.

"You saw that thing?" Aegon asked the armoured adventurer in disbelief.

"No. I heard it and guessed," replied the adventurer simply.

"Wow. Good guess," Aegon said. "A scout?" he then asked.

"Most likely," replied Goblin Slayer. "The Shaman must have sent it to see if the other goblins were still alive and the hobgoblin must've been with that first group but stayed back for when we came inside," he said.

Aegon felt a little impressed at how well Goblin Slayer knew the tactics of those he hunted. Putting the thought aside, the pair continued on, further into the bowels of the goblin cave. The passage began to narrow slightly but suddenly Goblin Slayer stopped and said, "It opens up here."

"You got any more fire-bottles left?" Aegon asked and the man nodded. "I've got an idea! Throw a fire-bottle at the mouth when I say," he said as he pulled a rock out from the cave wall. Aegon glanced at Goblin Slayer who pulled out a fire-bottle, lit the rag and readied to throw it. "Now!"

Goblin Slayer tossed the bottle at the mouth. Aegon flung the rock in his hand at the rapidly descending fire-bottle. Both items collided and the bottle burst open and fire and glass erupted everywhere, falling like meteors and yells and screams of pain burst out as goblins ran about, trying to beat out the flames that touched. The cave lit up partially to reveal the cave. Seeing their chance, Aegon and Goblin Slayer rushed into the cave. Aegon turned around the corner quickly, anticipating a hobgoblin but to his relief, he saw that it was currently busy trying to put out the flames on its arm. With a swing of his hatchet, Aegon decapitated the creature before turning to the rest of the goblins.

Their roles from the first hunt were reversed as Goblin Slayer stabbed the goblin shaman in the gut with his sword at the back of the cave. The remaining goblins were scattered about, hopelessly trying to put the flames that licked and ate their bodies hungrily. Aegon felt slightly sorry for the creatures as he approached a goblin that was weakly crawling away. Placing his boot on the creature's back, Aegon swung his hatchet into its skull, ending its life. Then a weak voice called out to him.

"H-help…"

Looking to where the voice had come from, Aegon's eyes went wide at what he saw and he felt bile rise up in his throat at the sight. Three women, each of fairly young age, naked, broken, battered, cut up and bruised were lying on the cave floor. Scratch marks covered their entire bodies and their inner thighs were bruised beyond belief.

"Seven hells!" Aegon blurted out in horror as he rushed to the three women.

"H-help us," one of the women said weakly, her voice hoarse from screaming too much.

"It's alright! We'll get you out of here!" Aegon said to her quickly and looked at Goblin Slayer who had pulled aside the shaman's throne to reveal a small wooden door behind. "Hey! We need to get these women out of here!" Aegon called out to him.

Goblin Slayer appeared not to have heard him as he opened the small door and said, "They've spawned."

"Wh-what? Forget that! These women need help!" Aegon shouted.

"**THEY'VE SPAWNED!"** Goblin Slayer said darkly. Squinting his eyes, Aegon saw three small goblins, their features less defined and more stubby.

"I have to kill them!" Goblin Slayer said as he readied his sword.

"Wait! Wait just a bloody minute!" Aegon protested getting in front of Goblin Slayer who stared at him silently. Aegon looked at the goblin children who huddled together whimpering fearfully. But, looking back at the battered and raped women, Aegon was reminded of the story of what happened to his mother and the promise he made of what he would do when he find the monster who violated his mother.

Looking back at the goblin children, Aegon spoke softly. "At first, I didn't fully understand what you meant when you said to kill all goblins, including the children," he said slowly and he looked at Goblin Slayer, his purple eyes now hard and cold as frosted granite. "But I do now!" he declared.

Goblin Slayer nodded his head. "Good."

Aegon pulled out his last fire-bottle and lit the fuse. The goblin children started to cry but Aegon simply threw the bottle as hard as he could at the creatures. The goblin spawn all screamed in agony as fire began to roast and melt their flesh and glass shards pierced their bodies. Watching for a moment, Aegon looked back at the three women. "We need to get them out of here," he said to Goblin Slayer. "But I don't think we can carry all three," he added grimly.

"The shaman usually has a litter that other goblins carry it on," replied Goblin Slayer. "We can use that," he said. A quick search turned up the litter; hefting one of the raped women over his shoulder and placing the other on the litter with Goblin Slayer hefting the third over his shoulder, Aegon and his partner then carried the three women out of the cave.

"You did well," Goblin Slayer said to Aegon who nodded his thanks before replying, "My thanks. But… I wish we got here sooner," he said indicating the three women with a remorseful glance.

"It happens often. And it won't stop until all goblins are dead," Goblin Slayer said. "But they at least survived," he added.

"I don't know if that can be called surviving," Aegon said grimly as they reached the exit and carried the battered women back to the village.

This would be the first of many quests that Aegon and Goblin Slayer would go on together from then on.

…

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

**A/N: There! The third chapter of this done and dusted! If this looks in any way familiar, that's because I borrowed a lot of elements of this chapter from another Goblin Slayer crossover, The Gunslinger, so I apologise to the author of that story if it seems like I copied or plagiarised your work, but yours was so good that I just had to borrow some of your elements. That being said, I do have some ideas of how to make my story different and I'm looking at some quests from games like Skyrim and the like to try and give my story a more unique feel. One such idea would be Aegon going on a quest to search for a farmer's wife in a bandit stronghold, only to find the wife is now in charge of the bandits. Another idea is Aegon becoming a treasure hunter for a gypsy fortune teller, searching for rare, exotic and unusual items.**

**I also have some ideas for original characters based on various fictional characters that I'm fond of. One such OC would be Female Samurai/Ronin Samurai whom I would base on my favourite anime waifu Saeko Busujima from Highschool of the Dead. Give that Goblin Slayer characters like Heavy Warrior are based on other anime/manga characters like Guts from Berserk in Heavy Warrior's case, I think I could use that for what I have in mind.**

**And that's about the sum total of things, so I'll just leave this and see what you all think. Feedback is appreciated.**

**Be kind to one another,**

**Angry lil' elf.**

**P.S. For Aegon's class as a Hedge Knight, what sort of skills or even unique abilities should he have? Combat abilities like swordsmanship and horse riding would be a given, but what about other abilities that could work for support or even social settings, like being able to play musical instruments? Any ideas and suggestions on that are appreciated.**


	4. A Change of Pace

**The Hedge Knight**

**Chapter 4: A Change Of Pace**

…

_Dear journal,_

_I suppose that's a terrible way to start this off but I could think of no better way to start this. I bought this journal to document my thoughts and chronicle my time here in this world and this is the first entry. It's been close to a month since I found myself in this strange land, and I've still no idea how I found myself here. The last thing I vaguely remember before waking up in a goblin cave was a stranger with Valyrian features approaching me, afterwards, nothing._

_But, it's not too bad here, all things considered. I've found steady work as an adventurer in the Adventurer's Guild in the Frontier Town, all thanks to Goblin Slayer and Guild Girl. I owe them both a great deal for helping me when they didn't have to. Although, I suppose letting me wander around with no clue as to where I am would've been worse in their eyes. Still, I am thankful for them helping me._

_One thing that does bother me slightly is the naming of people here, or rather, the titles instead of names. It is a tad confusing that no-one here has actual names but instead titles. I chose the title of Hedge Knight as I did not know what might happen if I said my name, Aegon, to these people. While I am assured that no-one from back home, particularly the Usurper, Robert Baratheon, or even Tywin Lannister, are here on this world, I'd rather not draw attention to myself by using my own name, so I chose the title of Hedge Knight. I had been trained as a knight and I was squired to Jon, I had yet to earn my spurs, but since no-one in this world has asked if I was indeed a knight, I supposed I could call myself one._

_Regardless, things aren't too bad here and I've mentioned that I've found work as an adventurer. I've been working particularly close with Goblin Slayer, we formed a party as people here would call it. The man comes in and we go goblin hunting together. He works especially hard and certainly plans things out well in advance, although there have been moments where he acts recklessly, but I suppose it's because I'm there to watch his back. Working with Goblin Slayer has given me plenty of experience in this world and its people and customs, as well as the dangers of it. In particular, just how dangerous goblins truly are and how nearly everyone underestimates them._

_I suppose I'm guilty of thinking that goblins at first glance weren't all that threatening, but when I went on that first quest with Goblin Slayer, I saw first-hand just how severely underestimated goblins were. When I first saw the handiwork of what goblins did to those poor women in the goblin cave, I felt sickened and ashamed that I first didn't realise the danger goblins present. Seeing those women reminded me of what had happened to my mother, Elia, and my elder sister, Rhaenys and my promise as to what I would do to the men who violated and murdered my mother and sister._

_I suppose going on goblin quests has allowed to live up to that promise I made, vicariously carrying out that oath so that no-one else would suffer like that ever again._

_The only problem is that goblin quests don't pay particularly well. At least not when working with Goblin Slayer on some big goblin horde jobs. I don't need too much, just to pay rent and board at the Guild and for some equipment upkeep, but I could do with some more money. I might try my hand at some other quests that pay a little better. I might even try to get a rank up so I can take some higher level quests._

_And let the record that I do think Padfoot Waitress's cooking is excellent. If I don't mention that at least once here, she'll somehow know and hunt me down._

_And have I mentioned there are two moons in this world? I go out at night sometimes just to look at them. Strange._

"Hey, whatcha writing there?" Aegon looked up from his newly bought journal to see Padfoot Waitress standing at his table with a plate of hot food in her hand and a mug of mead in her other. Padfoot Waitress was a young woman with long brown hair done in a ponytail wearing a waitress's uniform and she had two lupine ears on her head and a tail sprouting from the small of her back; the sight first confused Aegon but he quickly learned that Padfoot Waitress loved nothing more than cook meals that every adventurer would enjoy.

"Nothing special," Aegon said to her with a smile. "I recently bought this so as to document my thoughts. It's proven useful," he added.

"Eh~ that's suspicious! I'll have to sneak that away from you and find out what you're writing about!" Padfoot Waitress had a mischievous gleam in her eyes. Aegon smile's broadened as he replied, "If you even think about it, Lady Padfoot, I won't eat here ever again," he threatened jestingly.

"Wh-What?! Hey! Don't be like that!" Padfoot Waitress whined, making Aegon give a chuckle at her reaction.

"Well, I haven't written much so far. I've only just done the first entry, but I'd rather not share with anyone just yet."

"Fine~ be that way." Padfoot Waitress sniffed but she placed the plate of food and mug of mead on the table. "Eat up! I better not see a crumb or drop left!" she giggled before turning around to take another adventurer's order.

Aegon smiled before digging into his food. After eating his meal and finishing off the last of his mead, Aegon paid for the meal and left a little extra as a tip for Padfoot Waitress, Aegon exited the tavern and saw Guild Girl sitting at the desk going over some paperwork.

"Ah, hello, Lady Guild Girl," Aegon greeted her. "Catching up on some paperwork?" he asked conversationally.

"Oh, hello, Mr Hedge Knight!" Guild Girl greeted in a chipper voice before saying, "And yes, I'm catching up on some paperwork while I still can," she said self-deprecatingly.

"Never stops, does it?" Aegon grinned sardonically and Guild Girl gave a nod in confirmation. "Has Goblin Slayer shown up yet?" Aegon then asked.

"No, not yet," Guild Girl said.

"Guess he doesn't have to be here early to get goblin quests now, does he?" Aegon joked lightly which made Guild Girl giggle and say, "Considering his competition, I suppose not." She giggled good naturedly.

Aegon then looked at the quest board and saw a couple of good paying quests that didn't involve goblins. "Excuse me, but would you mind telling me what Draugr are?" he asked Guild Girl.

"Draugr? Well, the're bodies of fallen warriors who were cursed to be in a state of un-death and seek to end their torment by fighting and killing the living," Guild Girl said. "Necromancers sometimes use Draugr as minions, but other times, the restless spirits of Draugr often means they'll roam around on their own in graveyards," she added. Looking at Aegon apprehensively, she asked, "Are you thinking of taking on a Draugr quest?"

"I was actually," replied Aegon. "I want to try something different, and get some more experience fighting other creatures apart from goblins for a while," he said.

"Ah, I-I see." Looking at Guild Girl, Aegon saw the look of disappointment on her face and he said to her, "I'm not cutting off from Goblin Slayer entirely. He's still my partner. I just want to try my hand at a couple of other things," he said.

"I know, it's just… since you've been working with Goblin Slayer these past few weeks, he comes back much quicker and in better shape," Guild Girl said quietly.

"So, you want me to stick with Goblin Slayer so you can keep seeing him more often?" Aegon said with a sly grin on his lips. Guild Girl's cheeks went red and her mouth was agape at the implication. Aegon gave a short laugh; since being at the Guild he picked up on the relationships everyone had going on. Guild Girl seemed particularly interested in Goblin Slayer although the man in question didn't seem to notice the attraction she had for him, and Aegon had called her out on it, one of the few who did in point of fact.

"I-I… suppose you could say that," Guild Girl mumbled embarrassedly, fumbling with some papers in front of her.

Deciding to spare her any further embarrassment, Aegon said to her. "You don't have to worry about Goblin Slayer. He's gone on plenty of jobs without me before, and doubtless he'll be fine without me for a little while."

"I know," Guild Girl mumbled forlornly. Deciding not to pursue the matter any further, Aegon took down the Draugr quest and handed it to Guild Girl. "I'll take this one," he said to her. Guild Girl took the paper and signed it, and the doors swung inwards and walking into the Guild was Goblin Slayer.

"Good morning, Goblin Slayer! Did you sleep in?" Guild Girl greeted the man, her mood much brighter than a moment ago.

"No. Had some errands to run first," replied the stoic man. "Any goblins today?" he asked.

"There are, but you should speak with your partner first," Guild Girl said gesturing to Aegon. Goblin Slayer looked at Aegon, his head titled to the side slightly.

"I'm going on a different quest to day to slay some Draugr," Aegon explained to the man, not beating around the bush. "I hate to do that to you, but I wanted to try my hand at something different for a while. But after that, I'll be back on the hunt with you soon enough," he said.

"I see." Aegon had gotten to know Goblin Slayer well enough to pick up on his vocal and bodily cues and from what he could tell, the man had no issues with it.

"Thank you, Ser Goblin Slayer. I promise I'll be back on the hunt with you as soon as I can," Aegon then said to the armoured adventurer.

"That's fine," Goblin Slayer replied before going over to the quest and picked out a goblin quest and handed it to Guild Girl. "I'll take this one," he said to her.

"Of course," Guild Girl replied, marking it down in her book and frowned as she saw how little the quest paid. Honestly, she didn't blame Hedge Knight/Aegon for wanting to try something different to make a little money and she hoped that a goblin quest that paid better would come up soon, although it might mean more trouble.

"I'll see you in a couple of days," Aegon said to Guild Girl and Goblin Slayer.

"Good luck, Mister Hedge Knight!" Guild Girl called out to him before sighing softly.

"Are you alright?" Goblin Slayer asked her. Guild Girl quickly nodded, not betraying any concern of anxiety and said to him, "I am, but I am sorry he's not going with you this time," she said. "Although him going with you would mean very little for both of you in terms of reward," she added bitterly.

"I do need money," Goblin Slayer admitted.

"Well, good luck and be careful this time! Hedge Knight isn't there to watch out for you, so you have to be extra careful!"

"I will."

…

Two days later, Aegon walked back into Frontier Town from his Draugr quest. It hadn't been much trouble to the find the Draugr in the graveyard they were located in as they immediately popped out of their graves as soon as he set foot in there. There had been quite a few Draugr than expected, but they weren't particularly fast or intelligent and Aegon could easily dispatch them with Blackfyre and cleared out the graveyard.

Interestingly enough, in one of the graves the Draugr crawled out of, there was a piece of folded up parchment. Cautiously opening it, Aegon found some drawings of what appeared to be a map with an X marking on a drawing of a tree stump. He decided to show Guild Girl to see what she could make of it. Walking back into the Guild, Aegon saw Goblin Slayer staring at the quest board, scanning it and Guild Girl sat at her desk watching Goblin Slayer.

"Hello," Aegon greeted Guild Girl who smiled upon seeing him.

"Oh, Mister Hedge Knight, you're back! No trouble with the Draugr?" she asked.

"There were a few more than what I expected, but they aren't particularly fast or clever," Aegon admitted modestly. "I took care of them and filled out the report afterwards," he said handing over his report of the quest. "I also found something in the graveyard after clearing out the Draugr," he added pulling out the folded parchment.

"Oh? What did you find?" Guild Girl asked. Unfolding the parchment, Guild Girl had a look of surprise written clear on her face. "Mister Hedge Knight, I think you've found a treasure map!" she exclaimed.

"I thought as much, but I wanted to make sure," Aegon said. "Anything relating to treasure hunts here at the Guild?" he asked.,

"Well, treasure maps are somewhat uncommon, almost rare," Guild Girl replied. "But such maps often lead to rare rewards, so such maps are highly sought after," she said.

"Huh, might be worthwhile to find it," Aegon said. "But I'm guessing there's a danger to finding the treasure, isn't there?" he asked cynically.

Guild Girl nodded and said, "Sometimes, yes. There's no telling what is guarding the treasure, if there is anything guarding it at all."

"Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained, as they," Aegon said nodding his head. "Would you mind marking this down for me? I feel as if I don't have this marked down, I'll be kicked out of the Guild," he added.

Guild Girl nodded before sparing a glance at Goblin Slayer then looked at Aegon and said to him, "I hate to bother you with this, but would you mind taking Goblin Slayer with you?" she asked hopefully.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"There are no goblin quests for him to take at the moment," Guild Girl.

Aegon's brow went up in surprise and he said, "No goblins? Felt like there was no end to them last time," he said. "Are you sure Goblin Slayer would want to go with me?" he asked Guild Girl.

"Well, he needs something to do, and it wouldn't hurt to ask him," Guild Girl replied. Aegon nodded before walking up to Goblin Slayer.

"Ser Goblin Slayer? Are you alright?" Aegon asked the man who turned to look at him and said, "There are no goblins."

"Guess that means no trouble for a while, huh?" Aegon said.

"I prefer when there are no goblins, but I do need money," Goblin Slayer said.

"Well, if you're interested, I have a job we could both do," Aegon said conversationally.

"Goblins?" the armoured adventurer asked. Aegon gave a chuckle before saying, "No. Well, at least I don't think so," he said. "I found a treasure map on my Draugr quest and I have no idea what may be guarding the treasure. So, for all I know, goblins could be guarding it and I could use someone to watch my back," he explained. "So, are you interested?" he asked with a smile.

After a moment, Goblin Slayer nodded his head and said, "Alright."

Guild Girl gave a low whistle of surprise as she said, "This is the first time Goblin Slayer's done a quest that doesn't involve goblins!" she said in awe. "You're amazing, Mister Hedge Knight!" she declared.

"Well, when you need money, you need money," Aegon said. "C'mon, looks like we've got a ride ahead of us," he added as he and Goblin Slayer left the Guild.

…

A day later, in the woodland forests, Aegon and Goblin Slayer dismounted their horses and tethered them to a nearby tree. Taking out the map, Aegon looked at the drawings on it and then at the forest around them.

"According to this map, the first marker is a strange tree with a right angle bend in it," Aegon said to Goblin Slayer who nodded. Taking a moment to look around, the two adventurers soon found the angled tree.

"Huh, wonder what happened to make the tree grow like this?" Aegon asked himself as he looked at the strange tree before shaking his head and looked back at the map. "From here, it is ninety paces northward to a clearing, then a hundred and ten paces east to where the stump should be," he said to Goblin Slayer.

"And there we find the treasure and whatever's guarding it?" Goblin Slayer asked.

"According to the map, yes," Aegon said as he put the map away and starting from the tree, he began counting the numbers of paces northward. After counting ninety paces they reached the clearing then they turned east and began walking a hundred and ten paces. Soon enough, they came to where a large hollowed tree stump was. Aegon's eyes lit up. "There it is!" he exclaimed eagerly as he began to run towards the tree stump. Then a large shadow came over Aegon and he was tackled to the ground by Goblin Slayer, just a large wooden club smashed the ground where Aegon had been a moment ago, clods of dirt and grass flying in the air.

"Thanks!" Aegon wheezed out as he and Goblin Slayer quickly got to their feet to see what had nearly squashed him. Standing a few feet away from the tree stump was a large bipedal creature with sickly green skin, long matted dark hair, a thick rotund body, short bowed legs, long lanky looking arms that ended in thick claws in one of which held a large wooden club and its face was fearfully ugly with jutting tusks and piggish eyes that glared at them hatefully.

"A goblin?" Goblin Slayer asked as he drew his shortsword.

"Don't think so!" Aegon said as he drew Blackfyre, the dark and rippling steel blade gleaming in the afternoon light.

The creature gave a baleful roar as it ran towards them with surprising speed and swung its club at them. Aegon jumped to the side and Goblin Slayer avoided the strike before delivering a slash with his sword. The creature gave a pained roar and swung its free paw at the adventurer who managed to avoid the blow. Aegon saw the wound Goblin Slayer deliver to the creature heal itself up almost instantly. The action suddenly triggered a thought in his head as he recalled an bestiary entry of a creature that could heal almost instantly from any wound.

"It's a troll!" Aegon shouted to Goblin Slayer who asked "What's a troll?"

"A really big monster that can heal from almost any wound!" Aegon yelled in reply and the troll roared angrily and lumbered over to Aegon, raising its club for a strike. Aegon quickly stabbed his sword into the creature's belly. Giving a pained cry, the troll clutched its wounded belly and moved back, glaring at Aegon hatefully.

"Is there a way to kill it?" Goblin Slayer shouted at Aegon who shouted back, "Set it on fire or cut off its head!"

"Right!" Goblin Slayer brought out a fire-bottle but Aegon shouted at him, "Wait! Do you want to burn the whole forest down!?" he asked aghast.

"What do you suggest then?!" Goblin Slayer asked.

"I'll take out its movement! You take off its head!" Aegon said. The troll seemingly to understand the conversation, swung its club wildly at Aegon who ducked and narrowly avoided the swings, the air whistling each time the club swung at him. Grabbing some dirt and grass, Aegon flung it at the troll's face making it give a confused grunt, shielding its face with one paw. This gave Aegon all the time needed to stab Blackfyre into its left knee. The troll gave a pained bellow as it fell to one knee and tried to grab Aegon.

"NOW!" Aegon shouted. Leaping into the air, Goblin Slayer swung his shortsword at the troll's neck, severing its head from its body. The look of surprise and confusion was clear on the troll's face as its head was separated from its body and thick black blood spurted out from the stump of its neck where its head once stood. Pulling Blackfyre free, Aegon gave a sigh of relief and said to Goblin Slayer, "Well done. A moment later and that troll would've squashed me."

"I've never fought a troll before," Goblin Slayer said simply. "I'll have to remember this if I ever face one again," he added.

"Maybe you will," Aegon gave a grin before looking at the tree stump. "So, where were we?" he asked. Walking over to the tree stump, Aegon found a wooden chest within the stump and pulled it out from its hiding place.

"You want do the honours?" Aegon asked Goblin Slayer who stuck the blade of his sword and using it as a lever, opened the chest. Inside the chest was a small bag of gleaming gold and silver coins, a strange ornate carved rod and a translucent crystal hanging from a silver chain.

"Wow! Quite a stash in here," Aegon hummed. "But what are the rod and crystal?" he asked.

"We could ask Witch at the Guild to identify them for us," Goblin Slayer said. "Thirty gold coins and twenty silver coins," he then said as he quickly counted the gold and silver coins.

"Pretty good haul," Aegon said. "You can take twenty gold coins, I'll take the rest," he offered.

"Are you sure? This was your treasure hunt," Goblin Slayer replied.

"It was, but you saved me from being squashed by the troll and you managed to kill it, so it's only fair," Aegon said.

"I wouldn't have known how to kill the troll if you hadn't told me, and you disabled its movement," Goblin Slayer pointed out.

"Just take the gold," Aegon said with a grin. "The Gods knows you could use it," he added.

"Yeah. I do need money," Goblin Slayer said hanging his head a little.

Dividing the treasure, Aegon then found another piece of parchment hidden at the bottom of the chest. "Another map?" he asked as he unfolded the parchment. Different drawings were on this time, depicting a different location.

"Another map, it is," Aegon said as he looked at the map.

"Should we go look for it?" Goblin Slayer chirped innocently.

"It can wait for now," replied Aegon as he put the new map in his satchel. "It's getting dark out and I'd like to get out of here before anything else shows up," he said.

"Right."

…

Sitting at a small campfire in the woods, Aegon relaxed in his seat as a pair of rabbits they had caught sizzled over the open flames, fat dripping into the coals.

Taking out Blackfyre, Aegon pulled out an oiled rag and began wiping the blade to clean it out of troll blood residue from the fight with said troll. "Quite a good haul that bit of treasure," Aegon said to Goblin Slayer. "You did very well killing that troll. I don't think I would've made it on my own," he added.

"You handled yourself well enough against it," Goblin Slayer replied as he turned one of the rabbits over to cook on its other side.

"Maybe," Aegon gave a chuckle. "Still, I appreciate the help you gave me with this quest," he said.

"Do you still want to goblin hunting with me?" Goblin Slayer then asked.

"What kind of question is that?" Aegon asked.

"You're fairly capable on your own," Goblin Slayer said. "And goblin quests don't pay very much," he added.

"True enough, but I guess I have something of a debt to pay you," Aegon admitted.

"A debt? You don't owe me anything," Goblin Slayer said.

"You rescued me from those goblins in the goblin cave, and you and Guild Girl gave me my start at the Adventurer's Guild," replied Aegon. "I don't have a lot friends here so far, but I do remember the kindness of others and you did me some kindness, so I'm more than happy to help you kill goblins," he said with a smile.

"So, that aside, now that you've gotten a taste for something other than goblin hunting, do you think you'll be doing something like this again?" Aegon then asked changing the subject as he dug out a leather flask of ale.

"Maybe, if there no goblin quests," replied Goblin Slayer.

Taking out the stopper and having a pull of the ale, Aegon wiped his mouth and offered the flask to Goblin Slayer out of politeness. To Aegon's surprise, the stoic adventurer took the flask and took a drink from it, a short drink but he drank it.

"Huh, didn't think you were the type to drink," Aegon said in surprise as Goblin Slayer handed him back the flask.

"Some is fine, but I don't drink often," the armoured adventurer said.

"So you've been drunk before?" Aegon asked and Goblin Slayer shook his head. Aegon cracked a grin at this and said, "Well, next time we go goblin hunting, we take a drink for every goblin we kill."

"We might die from that," Goblin Slayer said.

Aegon gave a laugh and said, "True, there's too many of those little beasts to make a drinking game out of. But how about a toast? To our first treasure hunt?" he offered the flask to the adventurer who took a sip from it.

Aegon took a sip from the flask as well and wiped his mouth before checking his rabbit. Sensing that it was cooked thoroughly, Aegon pulled out his knife and sliced some of the meat and popped it into his mouth and chewed, grease and meat juices running down his chin. Goblin Slayer sliced some meat off from his own rabbit and ate as well.

"To more dead goblins then?" Goblin Slayer then asked and Aegon gave a grin and replied, "Aye! To watching those little bastards burn!" he declared as he took a swig from the flask and offered to the Goblin Slayer who took his longest drink from the flask yet.

…

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

**A/N: there! The fourth chapter of this done and dusted! I hoped you liked this chapter and I hope you liked the treasure hunt in it. I figured I'd something different from hunting/exterminating animals, but I did want a monster Aegon/Hedge Knight and Goblin Slayer could face that wasn't a goblin and a troll seemed like the best one to use.**

**Some other monsters from various media will show up in the story, apart from what's already seen in the Goblin Slayer manga/anime so far, so there'll be a mixture of monsters from things like Dungeons & Dragons, Elder Scrolls and perhaps even the Witcher games. There'll be some more treasure hunts in future, as Aegon did find another map in the treasure chest and maybe when Priestess and the rest of Goblin Slayer's party shows up, Aegon takes them with him on a treasure hunt. Something like a treasure hunt would be right up High Elf Archer's alley and suit her standards of a 'proper adventure'.**

**Speaking of Priestess, I was thinking that some of her initial party survives their first quest after Aegon attempts to warn them of the danger, but not all of them will survive I think. I was thinking that Fighter becomes Aegon's apprentice/squire just as Priestess becomes Goblin Slayer's apprentice/squire, and I figured Fighter could help further Aegon's knowledge of the GS world and he could teach her some tricks to help her survive. What do you guys think?**

**And that's about the sum total of things, so I'll just leave this here. Let me know what you all think of this chapter and I'll see you all in the next one.**

**Be kind to one another,**

**Angry lil' elf.**


	5. A Missive Most Desperate

**The Hedge Knight**

**Chapter 5: A Missive Most Desperate**

…

Most goblins can't be said to be as intelligent as most other races, but in the cases of the special goblins such as goblin shamans, they could talk and process things in a similar capacity to humans. And in some cases, goblin shamans possessed a cruel cunning that allowed them to gain the upper hand on other races. But with such intelligence and cunning, came stories of their kind; heroes and murderers of their kind. Those who were known throughout the forces of darkness, for slaughtering goblin hordes.

One name stood out among those individuals. The simple, but to a goblin, unnerving title of Goblin Slayer. Even saying the name in the presence of lesser goblins would enrage them and make them thirsty for the blood of the murderer of their kind. As said before, goblins aren't intelligent, but they remember what grudges they hold and those who wronged them. Many goblin hordes vowed that should they ever capture Goblin Slayer, they would do unspeakable things to the man to break him before killing him.

But the mere idea of having to face such a man in combat sends a shiver of fear down any goblin's spine. At this stage, it was an instinctual primal fear of the man. Over the past four years, Goblin Slayer had honed his skills in exterminating goblins of any kind, killing them in brutal ways and not even sparing their children. A horde may think it will be the one to end the threat to their kind, but the next night there would be a pile of burnt corpses.

But the shamans who led their hordes must maintain tight control of them, lest they show weakness to their horde. If any sign of weakness is shown, the goblins would leave for another horde, but not before killing the shaman who showed such weakness.

One such night, a scout the shaman had sent had come running back, informing him that Goblin Slayer had come for them. The Shaman decided swiftly; giving the order for the horde to march forward with the hopes of overwhelming the man through sheer numbers in open space. Goblin Slayer may be good at killing goblins, but there was no way he could take on a horde of fifty goblins in an open space, could he?

But what the shaman didn't realise was that Goblin Slayer hadn't come alone.

As the horde burst out of the cave mouth, the stench of alcohol filled the air and pouring down on the horde was strong spirits, drenching the goblins. Then a lit torch was thrown into the horde and a great explosion of flame lit up the night sky. Goblins screeched in agony as hungry flames licked at their bodies, their flesh blistering and melting. The shaman had been smart or lucky enough to jump off his chair as the torch had been thrown into the horde. A few other goblins had been lucky enough to escape as well, but they soon found themselves being skewered by arrows.

Then a voice that was laughing caught the shaman's attention and the creature turned to see a young human with silver-blonde hair, wearing leather and mail armour and armed with a longbow made of green wood fire another arrow at the unburnt goblins.

"It worked!" Aegon laughed. "Never would've thought the whole horde would come out to meet us!"

"Goblins usually have the advantage of greater numbers in open areas," Goblin Slayer said as he smashed his targe into a goblin's face. "And they assume I work alone," he added.

"Wouldn't have been wrong not too long ago," Aegon replied as he drew Blackfyre and bisected a hobgoblin that approached him.

The shaman seethed with rage. _Him! He's the one! The unknown! Slaughter him!_

Grabbing a nearby goblin and holding the hapless creature in front of him, the shaman chanted in its native tongue to conjure a spell. But before the spell could even gather up any energy, a knife found itself embedded in the Shaman's arm, forcing it to drop its staff and yowl in pain.

"Found the shaman!" Goblin Slayer stated the obvious.

"Nice work! Let's finish this!" Aegon replied as he stabbed the last hobgoblin in the chest, skewering its heart. Stalking towards the injured shaman, Aegon readied Blackfyre, the Valyrian steel blade coated in the blood and gore of the shaman's kin.

Desperate to save itself, the shaman tossed its compatriot at Aegon and made to flee into the woods. Aegon sliced the goblin thrown at him in half, before drawing a knife and throwing at the fleeing shaman. The sharp steel blade flew end over end and the blade sunk deep into the goblin shaman's back, cutting through its lower spinal cord. The shaman gave another wail of pain as all sense and feeling below its waist was cut off and it fell to the ground, its nose and a few of its teeth breaking on impact. Still alive, albeit barely, the shaman weakly tried to crawl away when a sturdy boot pressed down onto its back, preventing it from crawling any further. The shaman tried to gurgle out in Common speech for the human to show mercy but its lungs and throat were filled with its own blood, making whatever it was trying to say come out incomprehensibly.

Aegon stared at the pitiful creature for a moment before saying, "Part of me wonders if that's some spell you're trying to conjure, or if you're begging for your life. Oh, well, doesn't matter now I suppose." Thrusting the tip of his sword into the goblin's back and through its heart, Aegon called out to Goblin Slayer, "Shaman's dead! Any others left?"

"No. That was the last of them," replied Goblin Slayer as he killed the last remaining goblin.

Wiping the blade of his sword clean with a rag and sheathing it, Aegon then said, "Well, that's a good day of killing goblins. Good idea with the spirit barrels. Worked even better than I thought it would."

"When you showed me the potency of alcohol, it only made sense," Goblin Slayer replied.

"Well, if that's all of them, let's get out of here," Aegon suggested.

"I need to check the cave. There could be infants," Goblin Slayer said.

"I doubt it, given that they all came out together, but you know better than I do," replied Aegon. "I'll stay out here and make sure none of them snuck off," he said.

Goblin Slayer nodded before jogging into the goblin cave.

Smiling to himself, Aegon admired at how dedicated Goblin Slayer was when it came to the job at hand. "He'd make a good kingsguard if he was inclined to," he murmured to himself.

…

_Dear journal,_

_It's been a few months now since I took Goblin Slayer with me on that treasure hunting quest. As per my promise, I was back on the hunt with Goblin Slayer hunting goblins again._

_It feels good being in this world. Almost like I've found my niche in this world. I'm more comfortable here than I would have ever imagined being. That said, I would like to go home, but in the meantime I'm making something of myself here._

_That aside, I've been climbing up in rank recently. After the treasure hunt quest, I got ranked up to Obsidian rank. About a month later, I got ranked up again to Steel. Each month I kept getting reviewed and approved for higher ranks. As of now, I'm sitting on Emerald rank which is a huge benefit as I can now choose a lot of higher paying jobs when I'm not working with Goblin Slayer._

_I owe that man a lot for helping me. And hunting goblins has becoming something of a routine, like doing daily chores, cleaning up around the Frontier, but I don't mind too much. There's much worse things to be doing than hunting goblins I tell myself and I suppose me helping Goblin Slayer is paying back the debt I owe him for helping me get my start._

_Perhaps that's just what 'party members' do for each other?_

_Not to mention that other adventurers can recommend others for rank ups. I don't rightly know if that's what Goblin Slayer would do for someone, but before each time I received a rank up, I can see him and Guild Girl talking with each other. When I ask them what they're talking about, they act really dodgy about the matter and shortly after that, I receive my new rank._

_I don't profess to be the smartest person in the world, but I know when someone is vouching for me. I owe Goblin Slayer and Guild Girl a lot for helping me. I don't know what I did to earn their kindness, but I'm more than appreciative of it._

…

Aegon closed his journal with a sigh. Turning his head slightly and hearing the crick of bones popping, Aegon rolled his shoulders as he leaned back in his seat in the tavern. Padfoot Waitress came with a plate of diced potatoes and grilled chicken and a mug of mead.

Thanking the young woman, Aegon began to dig into his meal when a loud voice called out to him.

"Yo! Hedge Knight!" Smiling to himself, Aegon looked up to see Spearman and Witch approaching him with friendly smiles.

"Well if it isn't the Frontier's Strongest Loudmouth?" Aegon japed as he swallowed a mouthful of food. "And good day to you, Lady Witch," he said respectfully to Witch who smiled in response.

"Hello… Hedge Knight," the voluptuous woman greeted as she pulled a long pipe out from between her breasts and stuck it in the corner of her mouth and it lit it with an incantation.

"Ah, shove it with the nickname, jerk!" Spearman grinned in amusement. "So, no goblin hunt today? Figured you and the stiff would be gone when we got back," he said as he and Witch took a seat across from Aegon.

"Just got back from a hunt a short while ago. Goblin Slayer went home to catch up on some sleep," Aegon informed them as he took another bite of his grilled chicken.

"That so, eh?" Spearman asked. "Gives me some time to impress Guild Girl then!" he boasted. Witch gave a small sigh and Aegon gave her a sympathetic glance. Over the course of his time at the Guild, Aegon had picked up on that Witch harboured feelings for Spearman, but said man was more infatuated with Guild Girl who had no romantic interest in him whatsoever.

"You do know there are some fish you just can't catch, right?" Aegon said to Spearman wiping his mouth with a napkin and taking a swig of his mead.

"Yeah right! We'll see about that!" Spearman puffed out his chest confidently. "When I set my mind to something, I don't stop until I achieve it!" he declared. "The more I show her what I'm made of, the more she'll see how much better I am than that boring guy!" he said boldly.

"Well, she certainly won't hear the end of it that's for certain," Aegon quipped as he finished the last of his mead. "Do you think that maybe you like the idea of being with her rather than _being_ with her?" he asked Spearman.

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Spearman had a confused look on his face.

"I'll let you figure that one out on your own," Aegon replied cryptically. "Changing subjects, you two staying, or you both going on another quest?" he asked. "And before I forget, Thank you, Lady Witch for your help with that rod and crystal the other day," he quickly added.

"It's… no… trouble. Happy to… help," replied Witch. Upon returning from the treasure hunt, Aegon sought out Witch and asked her to identify the rod and crystal. It turned out that the rod was a rod of paralysis and the crystal was a crystal of sanity. The rod when aimed at a living target would paralyse them for a few hours and the crystal when worn would protect the wearer from any magical or psychic intrusions on the mind. Aegon had decided to give Goblin Slayer the Rod of Paralysis, figuring the man could use it more than he could and he kept the crystal for himself.

"We haven't got any quests lately," Spearman said to Aegon. "Figured I might help the rookies out with some training," he added. "It helps if they learn from the best!" He grinned.

"I have… some… supplies… to refill," Witch said. "Our last quest…. did… use up… quite… a bit," she added as she breathed out a plume of smoke.

"What about you, Hedge Knight?" Spearman asked Aegon. "You gonna stick around?"

"Maybe," replied Aegon as he pushed his plate away. "I might have a check of the quest board and see if anything needs doing," he said.

"You should take a break once in a while," Spearman said to him. "Hey, you could come on a quest with us again?" he offered.

"You did… quite… well… last time," Witch put in. A couple of weeks ago, Aegon had branched out and helped some other parties out, Spearman and Witch's party included. Aegon wouldn't outright say he enjoyed working with Spearman and Witch, because he knew that it would go to Spearman's head, but Aegon could see that Spearman had more than earned his title of Strongest on the Frontier, but again, he wouldn't say that out loud.

"Maybe, depends on my partner though," replied Aegon as he stood up from his chair and said goodbye to them. Heading into the Guild, Aegon was greeted with the sight of Guild Girl talking with a young woman with should length blonde hair and an almost frantic look on her face. She was quite attractive from what Aegon could see; soft full lips, deep blue eyes and a slim but womanly body wearing a farmwoman's dress that hugged her figure.

"Is there a problem?" Aegon asked Guild Girl and the woman who both turned to look at him.

"Oh, Mister Hedge Knight, thank goodness!" Guild Girl exclaimed in relief. "Perhaps you could assist us?" she asked hopefully.

"Gladly, what seems to be the problem?" Aegon enquired.

The farmwoman spoke, "It's my daughter! She's gone missing!" she exclaimed in worry.

"Calm down, milady," Aegon said to her gently. "Tell me everything in detail and I'll see if I can help."

The farmwoman introduced herself as Village Widow which Aegon felt was a little insulting for a title but chose not to comment on it.

"Yesterday morning, I was doing some work on my garden and my daughter went to school. But when afternoon came, my daughter hadn't come home!" Village Widow almost sobbed.

"Did the school say where she went or where she was last seen?" Aegon asked.

"The school said they last saw her walking the path she usually takes to get home," replied Village Widow. "But other than that, no-one else has seen anything!" she said despairingly.

Aegon nodded and asked, "Have you asked the town guards if they can look for her?"

"The guards are too busy with monsters in the area to look for my daughter," Village Widow said half-angrily.

Aegon looked at Guild Girl who nodded and said to him, "It's because of the new Demon Lord. With the Demon Lord on the rise, monsters are running rampant around the country and town and city guards alike won't have the time or resources to look for missing children."

Aegon frowned before looking at Village Widow and asked her, "Have you asked anyone in your village if they've seen your daughter?"

"I've asked, but no-one claims to have seen a thing," Village Widow said. "I don't know what to do! I don't have much. My daughter and I barely scrape by, so I don't have anything to put up as a reward," she stated.

"That's why I asked if you would help, Mister Hedge Knight," Guild Girl told Aegon who nodded in understanding and said, "Very well, I'll help however I can."

Village Widow lunged and wrapped Aegon up in a firm hug. "Thank you! Thank you! You don't know how much this means to me!" she said, tears of relief pouring down her face. Aegon gave her a brusque pat on the back before prying himself out of the woman's embrace. A bit of a blush was on his cheeks as he felt Village Widow's firm curves mould into his body.

"I'll need you to take me to the school where your daughter goes and the path she takes home," Aegon said to Village Widow. "After that, I'll see what I can do to find your daughter," he added.

"Y-yes, of course!" Village Widow said.

Guild Girl marked the quest down in her ledger and Aegon and Village Widow left immediately, taking Aegon's horse. Village Widow sat behind Aegon, her arms wrapped his waist and her breasts pressing into his back. Aegon focussed on riding the horse and not on his passenger's body pressing up against his.

A few hours later, they reached the village. Village Widow then took Aegon to the local children's school. The School Teacher was at the front of the building and spoke to them.

"Oh, Miss Village Widow! You're back already!" exclaimed the man. "I assume this man is an adventurer from the Guild here to help?" he asked.

"Aye, I am here to help," replied Aegon. "Now start from the beginning: when you last saw Lady Widow's daughter, what she was doing?" he asked.

"Well, playing with her friends, of course," replied School Teacher. "Then when school ended for the day, I last saw her go down onto the path that she takes to return home," he said.

"Did you notice anyone or anything strange?" Aegon asked. "Was there anyone who was hanging around when they shouldn't be?"

"I'm not certain of this, but in the forest beyond the borders of the school, I thought I saw a shape of someone, or something" replied School Teacher thoughtfully, tapping his chin in thought.

"Where's the path that Lady Widow's daughter takes home?" Aegon asked.

"Over by the east gate," said School Teacher. "I'll take you there."

Taking Aegon over to the east gate, School Teacher opened it and showed Aegon the path. It was a fairly standard beaten dirt path with the forest trees on the right-hand side of it a short distance away and the wall of village palisade on the left-hand side.

"How far is this path to your home?" Aegon asked Village Widow who replied, "Usually it takes around about half an hour. Why?"

"So within that time frame, someone would've had time to snatch your daughter up," Aegon said and Village Widow had a stricken look on her beautiful face. "Which leads me to my next question: can you think of anyone who would want to snatch up your child?" Aegon asked.

Village Widow thought about it for a moment before saying, "I can't say I can think of anyone who'd want to snatch up my daughter," she said. "I don't have anything worth giving except my daughter!" she added.

School Teacher laid a gentle hand on Aegon's shoulder and led him a short distance away. "Perhaps I could give a clearer answer. As you no doubt have noticed, Village Widow isn't hard to look upon by any means and she does have some admirers and suitors in the village as well as those who are jealous of her beauty," the man said.

"Who has been the most persistent of Village Widow's suitors?" Aegon asked.

"Well, the most obvious would be Village Hunter," answered School Teacher. "He has been most persistent and brags to all the village lads at the tavern that Village Widow would be his," he said with a look of distaste.

"And Village Widow has spurned his advances more than once, I take it," Aegon remarked.

"Indeed, she has," said School teacher. "She's a fiercely independent woman who's determined to make a good life for her daughter and doesn't want to be known as a kept woman," he added with a look of admiration on his face.

"And what about those who are jealous of Village Widow, can you say who they are?" Aegon asked.

"Well, there would be the Mayor's Wife. She's green with envy that Village Widow has the attentions of nearly every man in the village," replied School Teacher. "And she's made more than a few rude remarks over Village Widow's status as a widow," he said with disapproval.

"Two possible suspects who would have reason to snatch up Village Widow's daughter to either blackmail her into marriage or leave the village for good," Aegon said himself. "I'll need to examine the pathway and search for any clues where Village Widow's daughter might have gone or who snatched her up," he added.

"Very good, if there is anything I can do to help, please let me know," said School Teacher.

Aegon nodded his thanks before speaking to Village Widow. "Milady, I'll need you to return home and wait for me there," Aegon instructed her. "If you receive anything in the way of a ransom note or threat, find me straight away!" he said.

"Thank you, Mister Hedge Knight, I will," replied Village Widow. "But what about your reward?" she then asked. "I don't have much to pay you with," she said regretfully.

"We'll work something out," Aegon said kindly. "Now, go home and pour yourself a drink. You look like you could use one," he added. Village Widow nodded and headed for home.

Aegon then began to search along the pathway for signs and clues. Finding a set of tracks belonging to a pair of tiny feet, Aegon surmised that they must belong to Village Widow's daughter. Following the tracks down the beaten path, Aegon soon found a part where the trail broke off towards the forest. Examining the tracks, Aegon found some crumbs and tasted one.

"A sweet taste, a cake of some kind," Aegon mused and sure enough he found some cake crumbs that led into the forest. "The girl must found a delicious cake trail that led her into the forest," he said. "Any child would be led astray when sweet treats are on offer," he added grimly.

Following the trail of crumbs and trodden grass, Aegon soon happened upon a clearing where he found a small rucksack. Picking up to examine the item, Aegon then said to himself, "The child was led further into the forest where she was suddenly ambushed and taken away, but left behind her bag." Searching the clearing, Aegon found another trail, this time some heavy footprints showing someone wearing heavy boots, there was another pair of footprints as well, also wearing similar boots.

"Two people who lured the girl off the path and snatched her up," Aegon said to himself thoughtfully. "But for whom would they be working for? The Village Hunter who desires Village Widow's hand in marriage, or Mayor's Wife who wants to see her leave the village?" he asked.

Following the trail quietly, Aegon could see that the kidnappers made no attempt to hide their tracks. Either a lack of brains, or sheer arrogance thinking they wouldn't be caught. Soon the smell of wood-smoke and roasting flesh hit Aegon's nose and he spied the smoke of a campfire nearby. Crouching down low to avoid being seen and sticking to the bushes, Aegon slowly crept towards the place where he saw the smoke.

Sure enough, a small camp made itself known and Aegon saw two men wearing rough clothing and armed with shortswords sitting by a fire and in a cage nearby, whimpering unhappily was a little girl who looked like Village Widow in miniature. The two men were speaking in low tones, but Aegon could hear them well enough.

"Easy work this, snatching up that little girl," said one of the men. "A bit of cake to lure her into the forest and she was ours for the taking," he chuckled coarsely.

"Don't forget! We wait for the client, hand over the girl and we take our leave," said the other man. "In and out, unsuspected and undetected," he added.

"Aye, that's how we roll!" said the first man. "But who is our client?" he asked.

"Dunno, wore a hood the whole time I was talking with 'em," replied the other man poking the campfire with a stick. "None of our business anyways," he said dismissively. "Was a big 'un though," he added casually.

"So, when's the client gonna get 'ere? Been waiting ages now!" said the first man after a moment of silence.

"He'll get here when he gets here!" replied the second man.

Aegon silently debated with himself on what to do. On one hand he could easily go in and take care of the two kidnappers and bring the girl back home safe and sound, but on the other, he wanted to find out who the client was so that he could present some evidence to Village Widow of who wanted to steal her daughter.

Deciding to wait for a while, Aegon watched the two thugs sit by the campfire. After an hour of waiting the sound of heavy footfalls alerted Aegon and he looked to see a large person wearing a dark cloak and hood over their head make their way into the camp. The two thugs jumped up, their hands on their swords.

"Who are you?" spat one of the thugs.

"I'm your client," replied the hooded figure, his voice a deep baritone and drawing from within the folds of the robe, the figure pulled out a drawstring bag that jingled with coins. "As promised, your payment," the figure said tossing the bag to one of the men who caught it and hefted it in one hand. "The girl, please," he ordered rather than said.

"Right, right, don't get all uppity now," said one of the thugs pulling out from a pocket a grimy looking key. Walking over to the cage where the girl sat, the thug unlocked it. Aegon then made his move; slowly standing up, nocking an arrow to his longbow and drawing it back, Aegon aimed at the thug opening the cage. Taking in a deep breathe, time seemed to slow for Aegon before he released the bowstring. With a sharp twang and hiss of air, the arrow sunk into the back of the thug's head, causing him to slump over to the ground dead.

The other thug and the hooded man gave a startled jump and stepping out into the camp, Aegon nocked another arrow to his bow, ready to aim and fire it. "Hello there, gentlemen. Mind if I warm myself by your fire?" he jested.

"Who the fuck are you?!" the last thug spat pointing his sword at Aegon.

"Just a concerned adventurer hired by a worried mother looking for her child," replied Aegon. Looking at the hooded man, Aegon said to him, "Now, might you be kind enough to remove your hood? I'd like to know who it is I am talking to."

The hooded man grunted and removed his hood showing a powerful looking jaw with jet black hair done up in a ponytail and pale blue eyes.

"Am I correct in guessing that you're Village Hunter?" Aegon asked the unmasked man.

"Yeah, that's me, but who are you is the question," replied Village Hunter.

"I told you, a concerned adventurer," replied Aegon. "I can only assume that you're here for the girl to bring back to her worried mother and in doing so earn her favour?" he asked.

"It's no business of yours, stranger!" Village Hunter spat. "So why don't you go back and fight some monsters? That's all adventurers like you are good for," he said nastily.

"Now see, I can't do that," replied Aegon calmly. "I gave my word to Village Widow that I would bring her daughter back safe and sound, and I intend to keep my word," he said. "And woe to me if I fail to keep my word," he added.

"Well how about this, stranger? I give you some money and you walk away and I bring the girl back to her mother," replied Village Hunter. Bringing out another pouch from his robes, Village Hunter shook it. "Think about it: a nice big bag of gold and silver for you to take with you and we forget this ever happened?" he offered with a shark-like smile.

Aegon gave a thin smile and said, "Heh, men like you are among the worst there is."

"Well there's two of us and only of you!" snarled the thug. "I suggest you take the easy way out and go home, stranger!" he threatened.

Aegon sighed and said, "Fine. Have it your way!" Drawing back the bow, Aegon fired the arrow into the thug's left knee. The arrow speared through the man's knee and he fell to the ground screaming in agony. Village Hunter threw off his robe and pulled out a handaxe and knife and charged towards Aegon.

Aegon drew Blackfyre and held it out in front of him. Village Hunter got under it and swung his handaxe at Aegon's chin. Aegon barely managed to avoid the blow and there was a sharp whistle of air as the wedge blade of the axe swung past Aegon's head. Twisting his body around, Aegon drove his foot into Village Hunter's leg and placed the blade of Blackfyre at the man's throat. "Surrender! I don't want to kill you!" Aegon said. Village Hunter growled and grabbed Aegon's wrist and threw him over his shoulder. Aegon gave a grunt as he hit the ground. A loud roar alerted Aegon and he saw the blade of Village Hunter's spearing down towards him. Rolling to the side, Aegon felt a thump in the ground as the blade sunk into the dirt where he had been a scant second ago.

Aegon then swung his boot into Village Hunter's face and was rewarded with a grunt and snarl of pain. Aegon then swung his sword and was rewarded with an even louder snarl of pain. Getting back to his feet, Aegon saw Village Hunter getting back to his feet, clutching his cut cheek that was streaming crimson blood.

"Surrender now or I will be forced to kill you!" Aegon said to him.

"Go to hell! Village Widow will be mine!" Village Hunter spat as he hefted his handaxe and knife, giving them a little twirl.

Aegon then rushed the man and kneed him the groin. All the air went out of the man as his manhood was struck. Falling to his knees, the man whimpered in pain, dropping his weapons to clutch his injured manhood. Aegon then slammed the hilt of his sword into the man's temple, knocking him out. Breathing a sigh of relief and exhaustion, Aegon looked to see the thug clutching his wounded knee, looking at him fearfully.

"Don't-don't kill me, adventurer, please!" the man sobbed pathetically.

"I won't," replied Aegon tersely. "I'll leave that to the village elders to decide your punishment," he said. Going over to the cage and unlocking it, Aegon spoke to the little girl who whimpered fearfully.

"It's alright, little one, I won't hurt you," Aegon said to her softly.

"Where's mummy?" the girl asked unhappily.

"She's safe and sound last I saw," Aegon said to her. "Run home now and tell your mother to bring some men here. Can you do that?" he asked.

"Yes sir!" the girl said with an enthusiastic nod of her head.

"Good girl," Aegon praised her. "Get going, now," he told her and the girl scampered out of the campsite.

Finding some rope, Aegon tied Village Hunter's hands and feet together and bound the thug's hands together. It wasn't long when Village Widow and some other villagers came running onto the scene to find Aegon seated at the campfire, calmly cleaning his sword.

"What took you all?" Aegon asked them jokingly.

Aegon told them everything and the thug quickly complied to tell them that Village Hunter had paid them to kidnap Village Widow's daughter for Village Hunter who would then use the girl as a bargaining chip into making Village Widow marry him. The Village elders then hauled Village Hunter and the hired thug into the local sheriff's office where they would wait a trial.

After giving his account of things, Aegon went to Village Widow's home where he found the woman and her daughter seated on the front porch. The house was small but looked to be well-made and a large vegetable patch and herb garden in two plots sat nearby.

"Mister Hedge Knight!" Village Widow exclaimed looking up at Aegon. "Everything went well?" she asked politely.

Aegon nodded and replied, "Aye. Village Hunter will stand trial tomorrow morning. Worst comes to worst, he'll be hanged. Otherwise he'll be banished from the village," he said.

"I'll be glad to see him gone, either way," Village Widow said softly. "I knew that he desired my hand in marriage, but I didn't think he would stoop so low as to blackmailing me," she added.

"Love often makes one do silly things, so I've been told," Aegon said awkwardly, feeling a little out of his depth on the matter. "But he won't trouble you again," he added firmly.

"I… suppose you're here for your reward?" Village Widow asked softly. "I have some coin laid by," she said softly.

"No need, I can't take money from a beautiful woman like you," Aegon said with a gentle smile.

Village Widow gave a chuckle and said, "You think I'm beautiful?" she asked, a slight blush on her cheeks.

Aegon blushed red and stammered out, "It-it's an apt description of you," he managed to say.

"Well, thank you for the compliment, Mister Hedge Knight," Village Widow said with a kind smile. "But I really feel I should pay you back somehow," she added.

Aegon thought about it for a moment before saying, "How about a home-cooked meal and place to rest for the night?" he asked.

Village Widow gave a smile and replied, "I think I can accommodate you there."

…

Later when the sun had gone just beyond the horizon, Aegon was being treated to a home-cooked meal of beef stew and ale to wash it down by Village Widow. Village Widow's daughter was in awe of Aegon and asked him to tell her stories of his adventures. Aegon told her about the treasure hunt he went on with Goblin Slayer; the girl was awed by the description of the troll and the fight against it. Soon after the stew was finished, Village Widow put her daughter to bed who insisted she was not sleepy but a little yawn from her betrayed the lie and she was put to bed.

Aegon sat at the dining table, sipping some ale and Village Widow walked back into the room and sat opposite him.

"Thank you, Mister Hedge Knight," she said quietly and gratefully.

"For what?" Aegon asked.

"For taking the quest I offered, even though there was little to money to be gained from it," Village said. "I truly am grateful for your help," she added sincerely.

"Anything to help a lady in need," Aegon said with a smile and Village Widow smiled before reaching across and placing her hand on top of his. Aegon blinked at the gesture and he looked at Village Widow who had a look of uncertainty in her deep blue eyes.

"It's been a long time since anyone, a man, has helped me. Not since the death of my husband four years ago," Village Widow said softly.

"How did your husband die?" Aegon asked gently.

"A wild beast attack," was Village Widow's answers. "A pack of wolves descended upon him and killed him and a few other villagers," she then said.

"I'm sorry for your loss, milady," Aegon said to her gently. "I know what it's like to lose family," he added.

"It was hard at first, trying to make ends meet," Village Widow said quietly. "People offered to help, but my damned pride wouldn't allow it," she added with a self-deprecating smile.

"But you've done well so far, and you've raised a fine young girl," Aegon said. "Just teach her not to wander off the path if there's cake leading her off it," he advised half-serious and half-jesting.

"I will try to do that, Mister Hedge Knight," Village Widow said with a chuckle. Aegon nodded and finished off the last of his ale.

"It's getting late," Aegon remarked looking out the window and saw the green and red moons high in the sky.

"It is," Village Widow nodded in confirmation. "I believed you wanted to spend the night?" she asked, her cheeks flushed crimson.

"Err… if-if you want me to?" Aegon said hesitantly. Gods he felt like a twit! He was before a beautiful woman and he was acting like a nervous virgin boy. To be fair he was a virgin, but usually didn't act all nervous around women.

"Do you want to share?" Village Widow asked nervously.

"I-I won't if you don't want me to share," Aegon replied.

"No! It-it's fine," Village Widow said quickly. "The bed's more than big enough," she added with a chuckle.

"Right… let's-let's go to bed then," Aegon stated. Heading to the bedroom, Aegon pulled off his shirt of mail and leather until he was bare chested before removing his trousers and boots so that he was in his smallclothes. Village Widow had gone behind a simple changing screen to undress and came back out and wore a simple nightie that hugged her figure.

Aegon stared at Village Widow for a long moment and he felt the blood in his head rush down south. Village Widow looked down and bit her lip, a blush spreading across her cheeks.

"Wh-What?" Aegon asked her and she gestured to his groin. Aegon looked down and his hands shot down to block the view of his manhood which had grown hard and erect and tented outwards. "Sorry!" he quickly said.

"No, it's fine!" Village Widow giggled girlishly. "I must say I'm flattered," she said with another giggle.

"I didn't have any control over myself," Aegon replied, his cheeks stained crimson and his heartbeat pounding in his chest.

"Are… are you a virgin?" Village Widow asked hesitantly as if afraid to ask.

"I've never lain with a woman if that's what you mean," Aegon admitted.

"I see," Village Widow said and Aegon heard the rustling of cloth and he turned around to see Village Widow standing there, naked before. Aegon's cock throbbed harder at the sight of the naked woman before him; she was very beautiful, her body was in healthy shape with firm perky breasts, a slim waist and wide child-bearing hips all wrapped in soft enticing motherly curves. Her thighs had a healthy thickness to them and tapered down to look almost endless. Her blonde hair hung loosely about her shoulders and her gorgeous face was flushed red with something Aegon had never seen in a woman before.

"Mi-milady?" Aegon asked her.

"Would you oblige me?" Village Widow asked him, her dulcet voice soft, sweet and husky.

A rush of lust and desire overcoming him, Aegon pulled off his smallclothes to reveal his own nakedness to the woman before him. Village Widow gave a little gasp as she saw Aegon naked, his manhood hard and erect. He stepped towards her and embraced her gently, his hands running down her sides and hips before gently grasping the soft yet firm round buttocks. Village Widow wrapped her arms around Aegon's neck. They looked deep into each other's eyes, they had no words to say, none were needed before they softly started kissing each other. Making their way to the large bed, the pair of them fell onto it made love well into the night.

…

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

**A/N: **_***waves away the steam* **_**well, didn't expect that! I don't know what to make of the last bit of this chapter, it just sorta happened, but I hope you all liked it. We might see the formation of Aegon's own harem in this story. I mean, Goblin Slayer has something of a harem in the form High Elf Archer, Guild Girl, Cow Girl, Sword Maiden and possibly Priestess, so maybe I could create one for Aegon/Hedge Knight in this story? If I do create a harem for Aegon, what girls would you all wanna see in it, both characters from the Goblin Slayer anime/manga or any original characters you can come up with? I have a couple ideas for OCs for this story, some of whom are based on other anime/manga characters from different fandoms, but some are based on real life celebrities. In fact, I based Village Widow on Dutch supermodel Doutzen Kroes believe it or not, as she's one of my favourites.**

**Anywho, in other news, I'm working on another Game of Thrones/anime crossover with Monster Musume/Daily Life with a Monster Girl. I know, I know! I'm a filthy degenerate pervert! So, what? I'll bet plenty of you read or watch anime/manga that are just as bad if not worse than Monster Musume! In any event, I've set up a romance poll and the results so far show two of my OC, Amrynn the Elf-Girl and Pryo the Dragon have taken the top spot with Miia taking second place. Feel free to have a vote on the poll if you wish, and I'll see you all in the next one.**

**Be kind to one another,**

**Angry lil' elf.**

**EDIT AS OF 28/01/2020: Changed some wording around and added some bits in and tried to fix up the grammar.**


	6. The Iron Maiden

**The Hedge Knight**

**Chapter 6: The Iron Maiden**

…

Violet eyes fluttered open as morning sunlight hit Aegon's face. Groaning in malcontent, he buried his face into the sheets and turned over on his side. Then Aegon suddenly realised that this was not his bed and he was not alone. Opening his eyes blearily, Aegon saw who his bed mate was.

Village Widow. Naked with only the sheets of the bed covering her modesty, her blonde hair mussed and bedraggled and a deeply content smile on her lips as she slumbered. The events of last night suddenly paraded around Aegon's mind.

"Damn…" was all he could say as he lay on his back and stared up at the wooden ceiling. He had certainly not expected last night to happen. He briefly thought of what his mentor would've done if he were here to find out.

"Shit…" Aegon cursed before sighing and talking to himself. "Okay, okay, calm down! This was probably a one-time thing, doesn't mean anything," he muttered to himself. Sighing heavily, Aegon then thought about last night some more and a small smile stretched across his lips and he looked at Village Widow and smiled more widely.

"Well, can't say last night was bad, if I do say so myself," he said to himself as some particularly pleasant memories of last night made themselves known in his head. Crawling over a little closer to Village Widow, Aegon pressed a kiss to her forehead which had her stir awake.

"Mmm?" Deep blue eyes cracked open and saw Aegon staring at her tenderly. A smile stretched across the woman's face and she murmured a greeting. "Morning, sexy," she said a sultry voice.

"Sexy? That's a new one," Aegon japed as he pulled Village Widow closer and started kissing her neck making her moan appreciatively and bite her bottom lip.

"What do people usually call you?" Village Widow asked as she slowly stretched in the bed, feeling the kinks in her muscles work themselves out.

"Haven't been at this very long, so I don't know," replied Aegon as he paused kissing Village Widow's neck. "But most people call me Hedge Knight," he said before kissing her the upper part of her chest.

"Well, I certainly enjoyed last night," Village Widow said as she suppressed a moan as she felt Aegon's roaming lips on her bare skin. "Hope you enjoyed last night too," she added.

"I did, very much so," said Aegon as his hands roamed over his lover's body. "It was my first time, so I hope I performed admirably," he added.

"You did, and I hope I taught you some things," replied Village Widow. "You were a lot bigger than I thought you were," she said half-jokingly.

"Is there some rumour about adventurers overcompensating with their weapons?" Aegon asked half-serious.

"It's what I've heard, but I think you're an exception," replied Village Widow as her own hands reached down to grasp Aegon's manhood, making him gasp a little as he felt her hand take gentle hold. "And you've got quite a sword so to speak," she said with a devilish smile on her lips.

"I'm… glad you think so," Aegon said with a groan as he felt Village Widow's smooth hands stroke his cock which was coming to life in her grasp. Not to be outdone, his hand ghosted along his lover's skin down to her womanhood and he ran a fingertip on the lips, stroking them. Village Widow gave a little jerk and breathy gasp and a little rivulet of drool ran down her chin as Aegon.

"Gods! You know how to get a girl going!" she exclaimed before claiming Aegon's lips, pushing her tongue into his mouth. Aegon's own tongue wasn't idle and began to wrestle hers for dominance.

The pair kept at this for a few moments, before Village Widow tensed up and gave a low keening moan and Aegon felt wetness on his fingers and palm and he gave a guttural groan of ecstasy as his own release hit him. The pair of them then relaxed on the bed, now even more tired from chasing their release. Village Widow brought up a hand to show Aegon's seed staining it and with a devilish smile, she began to lick up every drop of his seed from her hand. Aegon brought up his own hand which was soaked with Village Widow's juices and sucked his fingers clean of the moisture.

"Pervert!" Village Widow said in mock outrage a wide grin on her full lips.

"Back at you," Aegon shot back with a grin of his own.

Sitting up on the bed, the sheets falling away, to reveal her bare breasts to Aegon, Village Widow said resignedly, "I have to get my daughter ready for school."

"And I probably need to head back to the Guild and inform them the quest was done," Aegon replied in an equally resigned voice. Village Widow climbed out of the bed, unashamed of her nudity and Aegon stared at her round buttocks as she picked up some clothes from the nearby wardrobe.

"Get dressed, Hedge Knight," she said without looking over her shoulder. Sighing, Aegon got out of bed and began putting on his armour. Once he was dressed, Aegon looked at Village Widow, a question burning on his lips. Village Widow smiled and said to him.

"Last night was wonderful. I haven't felt like that in a long time," she said to him softly. "But I'm not looking for a relationship. Not right now, not while I've got my daughter to worry about," she added.

Aegon had a slightly unhappy look on his face but he nodded his head and replied, "I understand."

Village Widow smiled softly before saying, "But if you ever want to visit me again, I wouldn't say no to you," she said with a suggestive smile and pressed a soft kiss to Aegon's lips. Aegon returned the kiss but did not press for more.

"Would you like to break your fast before you leave?" Village Widow then asked and Aegon nodded in acceptance.

Breaking his fast with a simple meal of porridge and a cup of milk, Aegon then took his leave of Village Widow and her daughter. Mounting his horse, Aegon then said to her, "If there is any more trouble befalling you or this village, send word to the Guild and I'll come," he said.

"I know, and I will," replied Village Widow.

"Goodbye, Mister Hedge Knight! I hope to see you again!" Village Widow's daughter said to him.

"Perhaps you will, little one," Aegon said to the girl with a smile. "Be good for your mother, and don't get lured off the road by sweets," he told her and the little girl nodded her head. Wheeling his horse around, Aegon urged the steed into a canter and headed back to the Frontier Town.

…

_Adventurer's Guild._

Aegon entered the Guild where Guild Girl was the first to greet him. "Ah, Mister Hedge Knight, you're back!" she exclaimed. "How did the quest go?" she asked him.

"It went well enough," replied Aegon. "Turns out the local hunter hired a couple of thugs to kidnap Village Widow's daughter so that he could blackmail her into marrying him," he said grimly.

"Oh, dear! I hope you caught him?" Guild Girl said hopefully.

"I did, and he'll be tried soon," said Aegon. "The best he can hope for is banishment. The worst will be hanging," he added.

"Well, I'm glad it all worked out," Guild said nodding her head. "But what about a reward?" she then asked.

"Well, Village Widow did offer some coin she had saved up, but I didn't want to take it," Aegon replied. "I simply asked for a meal and a place to rest for the night, and Village Widow was happy to oblige," he said, omitting the part where he and Village Widow slept together.

"Well, regardless, you do deserve some monetary compensation," Guild Girl said, her hands bringing out a bag that jingled with coins. "Here, a little something for carrying out Village Widow's quest. Our secret," she added with a secretive wink.

Aegon smiled and took the bag of coin and took a quick peek inside, seeing mostly silver and copper coins. "Thank you, Lady Guild Girl. I certainly appreciate it," he said.

"You're welcome, Mister Hedge Knight."

"So, my partner in today?" Aegon then asked.

"Not yet, but he should be back by this afternoon," Guild Girl said.

"Right. May as well see how everyone else is doing," Aegon said as he headed into the tavern. Almost immediately, Aegon was greeted by Padfoot Waitress.

"Mister Hedge Knight!" the excitable girl greeted him exuberantly. "Where were you? I was worried!" she pouted.

"I apologise, Lady Padfoot. I just had to take care of a quest is all," Aegon said to the young woman who looked slightly appeased.

"Yeah, sure," Padfoot Waitress groused.

"Honestly, it was!" Aegon exclaimed. "It was late and I had to stay the night in the village, but I'm here now, aren't it?" he said.

"Yeah, you are," Padfoot Waitress said nodding her head. "So, are you hungry?" she asked hopefully.

"I already ate this morning," replied Aegon and Padfoot Waitress deflated a bit. "Hey, you're cooking is one of the best I've tasted," he said to her softly. "Anyone who asks me who's cooking I like best, I'll say yours," he added.

"I'll hold you to that!" Padfoot Waitress said sticking out her tongue.

"Seven knows if I don't say anything nice about your cooking, you'll hunt me down," Aegon jested.

"Darn tootin' I will!"

Aegon chuckled and asked, "So, where is everyone today?"

"They're out in the training yard, if you want to know," said Padfoot Waitress. "Apparently a newcomer to the Guild is taking challengers in one on one duels," she added.

"Really? Who is the newcomer?" Aegon asked, now curious.

"She calls herself the Iron Maiden," said Padfoot Waitress. "I also heard that she made a vow to the Gods that anyone who can best her in single combat will be able to take her as a wife," she added.

"Has anyone beaten her?" Aegon asked looking amused.

"No." Padfoot Waitress shook her head in response, looking quite serious. "So far, she's beaten all the ranks below Silver, and she's about to go up against Spearman," she said.

"Well, this I have to see!"

Heading out into the training yard, Aegon soon saw a sizable crowd of adventurers gathered around the sparring circle, the rings and clangs of steel clashing against steel breaking the air, along with cheers and shouts of encouragement.

Making his way through the crowd, Aegon soon spotted Spearman and this Iron Maiden. Aegon was mildly surprised to see that Iron Maiden was quite beautiful; she possessed dark raven hair down up in a bun with clear green eyes and a pretty face. She wore formfitting chainmail and leather armour with a ring of bear fur around her neck and studded gauntlets on her hands and held in her hands a longsword. A fierce smile was on her face as she clashed her blade against Spearman's spear. Spearman looked to be quite strained as he blocked Iron Maiden's sword strikes and tried to thrust his spear at her, but she blocked and parried them away, trying to get in close enough so that Spearman's weapon would be useless at close range.

Spearman gave a yell and spun his weapon in arcs, but Iron Maiden deftly avoided the strikes and with her free hand, she clenched it into a fist and swung into Spearman's jaw. Spittle and a little blood flew out of Spearman's mouth and there was a chorus of dismay as Spearman fell to the ground groaning in pain.

Iron Maiden flexed her hand and looked at the crowd. "Is that it? Is there no-one here who can best me?" she asked. A lot of the crowd exchanged nervous murmurs and glances. Spearman was semi-carried semi-dragged out of the sparring circle by Heavy Warrior who looked to be a little injured himself and Aegon saw that the man's armour sported a few dents and scratches on it.

The crowd dispersed and Iron Maiden looked a little annoyed and she walked over to the side of the sparring circle and pulled out a flask and took a drink from it. Aegon walked over to Spearman, Heavy Warrior and Female Knight and Witch.

"Are you alright Spearman?" Aegon asked the injured man who gave an affirmative grunt, holding his jaw in one hand.

"A broken… jaw," Witch surmised with a slightly amused smile. "Iron Maiden packs… quite… a punch… doesn't she?" she said as she dug out from her satchel some salve.

"That's she does," Heavy Warrior agreed. "For a porcelain rank anyway," he said grumpily as if a little annoyed at being bested by someone of lower rank.

"Serves you right," Female Knight said with a sly grin but Aegon saw a look of annoyance in her eyes as she looked at her partner. "Were you hoping to wed her if you bested her?" she asked Heavy Warrior.

"Certainly not!" the man protested. "I just wanted to see if I could beat her! I had no intention of wedding her!" he said.

"Sure you did," Female Knight said with a sniff.

"So, who is Iron Maiden? And where did she come from?" Aegon asked, glancing over at the woman who was sharpening her sword calmly.

"She claims to come from an archipelago of islands where they make their living sailing and raiding coastlines," Female Knight told him. "I heard of those isles and I can say that if Iron Maiden comes from them, they breed hardy warriors," she said with a note of approval in her voice.

"And what about this vow I heard she's made?" Aegon asked.

"The vow that she'll only marry a man who's bested her in single combat? No idea what that's about," Female Knight replied. "But I don't think she's looking for marriage, if you know what I mean," she said with a significant look.

"Ah." Aegon nodded his head in understanding, getting what Female Knight was saying. "So, has anyone beaten Iron Maiden yet?" he asked.

"None here at the Guild so far," replied Heavy Warrior. "Spearman was the last one to try, and if he couldn't beat her, who could?" he said.

Aegon glanced over at Iron Maiden before making up his mind. "Is he going to…" Heavy Warrior asked Female Knight and Witch who nodded.

"I… believe… he… is," Witch said watching Aegon walk over to Iron Maiden.

Aegon stood in front of Iron Maiden who looked at him. "Who are you, friend?" the warrior woman asked him.

"Greetings to you, milady, I am known as Hedge Knight," Aegon introduced himself with a short bow.

"Ah, I think I've heard of you," Iron Maiden said nodding her head. "You're partners with Goblin Slayer, yes?" she asked.

"Aye, Goblin Slayer is my partner," replied Aegon. "I just heard about your challenge to everyone here at the Guild," he said.

"And so far, no-one's been able to beat me," Iron Maiden said not in a boasting voice, but one of settled despair.

"Would you fight me?" Aegon asked her seriously.

"If no-one here at the Guild has beaten me, what makes you think you can?" Iron Maiden said in confusion.

"No harm in trying now, is there?" Aegon replied as he moved into the sparring circle, drawing Blackfyre and readying his buckler. Iron Maiden gave a smile, showing twin rows of straight even white teeth.

"Let us hope that Gods show you favour in battle!"

Iron Maiden stood and walked into the arena readying her sword in a two-handed grip. People began murmuring and gathering around again, curious to see how Hedge Knight would far against the fearsome Iron Maiden.

With a fierce roar, Iron Maiden charged towards Aegon who raised his buckler to block the strike from her sword. The force behind Iron Maiden's strike sent tremors down Aegon's arm and jarred his teeth together. Gritting his teeth to fight through the pain, Aegon thrust his sword at his opponent, forcing her back away from. Pressing the advantage he had, Aegon made rapid thrusts at Iron Maiden who avoided the strikes with ease, before swing her sword at Aegon who leaned back to avoid the strike. The air whistled as the steel blade of Iron Maiden's sword missed Aegon's face by an inch. Iron Maiden then swung her fist at Aegon who luckily used his buckler to block the strike. Iron Maiden grunted in pain as her fist collided with the iron boss of Aegon's buckler and she wringed her somewhat injured hand in annoyance. Aegon then shoulder charged into Iron Maiden who gave a grunt of surprise as she was tackled to the ground. The pair rolled on the ground, each trying to get the upper hand, before finally Iron Maiden managed to kick Aegon off of her and staggered to her feet. Aegon swung his sword out blindly and was rewarded with a short yell of pain and a little blood on his sword and Iron Maiden fell to the ground, clutching her injured leg.

The crowd was cheering now and shouts of encouragement rang into the air for both Aegon and Iron Maiden.

Aegon got back to his feet and readied Blackfyre in his hand and looked at Iron Maiden who got back to her feet, albeit a little unsteadily, and held her longsword ready. An elated smile was on Iron Maiden's face.

"What are you smiling about?" Aegon asked.

"You're giving me a challenge! Could you be the one to defeat me in battle?" Iron Maiden said in excitement.

"I don't know if I am," Aegon said humbly. "But, I challenged you to a duel, and I would be remiss if I backed out now!" he declared.

A look of excitement was on Iron Maiden's face as she said, "Come then, Hedge Knight! Prove yourself worthy!" With a fierce yell, Iron Maiden charged forward, spinning her sword in rapid circles. Aegon swung his own sword at Iron Maiden.

Then their swords collided with a scream of steel and a shower of sparks, Aegon's Blackfyre sheared through Iron Maiden's sword, cleaving the blade in half rendering it useless. Everyone clapped their hands over their ears to block out the sound, but they still collectively winced at the sound.

Iron Maiden stared at her now useless sword in shock and Aegon raised the tip of his sword at her throat. The look in Aegon's eyes seemed to tell her to surrender. Iron Maiden threw her broken sword to the ground and said, "I yield."

The crowd began cheering wildly and coins were passed around from wagers made. Iron Maiden looked at Aegon who had sheathed his sword and said to him, "Well done, Sir Hedge Knight. You've bested me, fair and square."

"I did," Aegon said nodding his head and looked at Iron Maiden's broken sword sadly. "I'm sorry about your sword. I'll buy you a new one, a better one," he offered.

"Ah, tis nothing!" Iron Maiden said brusquely. "Weapons are easily replaced, and I am glad that someone was able to beat me," she added.

"Well, still, I would buy you a new sword to replace the one that I broke," replied Aegon.

"Well, I thank you for the kind offer," said Iron Maiden. "You were taught well. Who taught you to fight?" she asked.

"It'd make for a long story," replied Aegon.

"Well, then we need a quiet spot, some good mead and… what do you say?" Iron Maiden asked, a hopeful look in her green eyes.

"Of course. See you in the tavern?" Aegon asked her.

Iron Maiden shook her head and said, "Too rowdy! Come see me in my home, just outside of town. I'll be waiting after dusk."

"I'll see you then," Aegon replied. Iron Maiden then walked, her hips swaying from side to side. Aegon watched for a moment before wondering what he was getting himself into. Heavy Warrior and Female Knight came up to him.

"By the Gods! You beat Iron Maiden!" Heavy Warrior exclaimed. "You're either very lucky, or very skilled!" he said.

"Maybe a bit of both?" Aegon suggested as he walked to a water barrel and took a drink of water.

"And now you're set to claim Iron Maiden's hand!" Female Knight said. "I don't know whether to pity you or be happy for you," she joked.

"What do you mean?" Aegon asked as he sloshed some water onto his face to clear it of sweat.

"If Iron Maiden is as fierce in battle, then she must be just as fierce in bed," Heavy Warrior laughed. "You up for it?" he asked nudging Aegon with an elbow.

"I suppose I'll find out," replied Aegon. "But she may not want such a thing. Marriage is a big step after all," he said.

"Maybe," Female Knight said nodding her head and glancing at Heavy Warrior who didn't appear to notice.

"Well, in any case, we'll see you in the morning," Heavy Warrior said with a grin before leaving and Female Knight following him.

Afterwards, Aegon waited until dusk and headed for Iron Maiden's home. It was a modest home but it appeared to be well-made. Knocking on the door, Aegon waited for a moment before the door opened and standing in the doorway, dressed down to a simple tunic and breeches was Iron Maiden.

"Good evening," Aegon greeted her. Iron Maiden smiled and said, "I was starting to think you'd never come. Come inside, please."

"I'd never miss a chance to spend a pleasant evening with you," Aegon replied gallantly.

"I don't know if I'll make for engaging company," Iron Maiden said softly. "In truth, I rarely talk to men," she added in an embarrassed voice.

"Why not?" Aegon asked as they sat down at the table. "Are you shy around men?" he asked.

"It's just I made a holy vow to the Gods that only a man who could best me in battle would lie with, take me as a wife and give me children," said Iron Maiden. "And so far no-one had been able to defeat me in battle and I began to lose hope," she added sadly.

"Well, I'm not looking for marriage to be honest," Aegon admitted. "At least not while I'm doing this adventuring stuff, but I'm sure I can satisfy the first," he said with an honest smile.

Iron Maiden smiled and said, "Well, well, and here I thought you'd refuse," she said in an amused voice.

"Are you disappointed?" Aegon asked her. Iron Maiden shook her head and replied, "No. Because I see we understand each other perfectly."

Iron Maiden then leaned over and pressed her lips to Aegon's. Aegon didn't resist; her lips were soft like rose petals and he pulled Iron Maiden in closer to deepen the kiss. Iron Maiden moaned softly, her eyes closing in contentment as she wrapped her arms around Aegon's who wrapped his own around slim waist. Pulling her onto his lap, Aegon kissed Iron Maiden harder, his hands running up and down her sides and hips, before settling onto her taut round buttocks and gave a firm squeeze. Iron Maiden gave a moan of delight as she tangled her hands into Aegon's silver locks, pushing her tongue into his mouth. She felt a pressure under her hips and smiled as she realised that Aegon was enjoying this and she rolled her hips, making Aegon give a small hiss of pleasure and looked at her with hooded eyes that were darkening with arousal. Suddenly standing up from his seat, Aegon held Iron Maiden in his arms as she wrapped her long legs around his waist locking herself to him. Carrying her to the bed that was nearby, Aegon laid her down and resumed kissing her.

It didn't take either of them long to pull off each other's clothes and then join themselves together. Iron Maiden moaned in pleasure as she felt her core fill with Aegon's thick manhood. Aegon gave a guttural groan as he felt the hot, slick and tight silken walls clutch and pull at his cock, sucking him in deeper. Looking into each other's eyes, the pair then kissed again as they began to move against each other, making the bed creak and groan under their movements.

The pair made love well until the stroke of midnight, where at last, Aegon spent himself deep inside Iron Maiden who cried out in ecstasy as her own orgasm hit her like an avalanche. Pulling himself out, Aegon lay on his back and looked at his lover who smiled goofily back before pressing a kiss to his lips before laying her head on his chest and closing eyes and falling asleep, utterly content. Aegon closed his eyes as well and surrendered to blissful sleep.

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

**A/N: There another chapter done and dusted! I didn't expect this to happen, but hey, at least it was good right? If you're curious, I based Iron Maiden on Jutta an Dimun from Witcher 3 Wild Hunt from Skellige. We might see more of Iron Maiden in the story as she could become Aegon/Hedge Knight's lover and become part of his harem ;-) that is if Aegon forms a harem, but it seems likely.**

**Hopefully in the next chapter, we'll see Aegon and Goblin Slayer going on some goblin quests and maybe continue that treasure hunt for some more treasure. I might even have Aegon temporarily join the Female Party on their quest into the mountain fortress and gives them some advice on how to proceed in hunting goblins. I thought it horrible that the Female party was killed so horribly by the goblins, so I figured that they were smart enough to ask Aegon/Hedge Knight for some assistance due to him being the second most experienced goblin hunter after Goblin Slayer himself and Aegon is happy to help them out.**

**In other news, I've got an idea for a Game of Thrones/Highschool of the Dead crossover that also crosses over with Witcher and Fallout 4. It sounds a bit ambitious, but I'm hopeful I can pull it off. As usual, I've set up a voting poll on my profile, so if you want to see a particular girl for Aegon to be with, then feel free to put in your two cents.**

**And that's that about the sum total of things, so I'll leave this here and I'll see al in the next one.**

**Be kind to one another,**

**Angry lil' elf.**


	7. The Tournament Part I

**The Hedge Knight**

**Chapter 7: The Tournament Part I**

…

In the mountains, four young women hid behind an outcropping of granite. Each of them were adventurers and of the Steel rank. Not totally inexperienced, but they were still learning and growing as a team. Just ahead of them was an ancient looking fortress and the task before the group was a difficult one. A small horde of goblins had taken up residence in the fortress and had already kidnapped some girls from a nearby village and were doing things that were not fit for polite discussion. The young adventurers knew this was no easy task and exceedingly dangerous.

The leader of the party, Knight spoke to the group. "Alright, we go in during the daytime when the goblins are asleep, kill any goblins that are on guard and keep an eye out for traps and alarms. We rescue the girls they've kidnapped then get them out back to the village. Sound good?" she asked her team.

"Yeah! In and out, no problem!" the youngest of the group, Ranger agreed quickly. Looking behind them, she spoke to their temporary addition to the party. "What do you think, Mr Hedge Knight?" she asked.

Aegon stood back a little, cleaning his sword with a rag and some oil. He nodded his head thoughtfully before saying, "Not bad as far as plans go, but a couple of things before we head in," he said. "How long ago were those girls taken?" he asked the group.

"Hmm… about three days. Why?" Wizard asked, tilting her head in confusion.

Aegon sighed before replying, "Just figuring out the chances of the girls being alive. Three days isn't promising. If any of them are still alive, they might be wishing they weren't." Aegon then sheathed Blackfyre into its scabbard on his hip.

"What do you suggest then, Mr Hedge Knight?" Monk asked.

"Personally, I'd just burn this entire place down with the goblins inside. But-"

"We can't do that! If there's even the slightest chance they're still alive-!"

"I know that, Lady Knight, believe me I know," Aegon said to Knight, trying to keep her from losing her cool. "I'm certainly not suggesting we don't go in and try to rescue the girls. But this fortress is pretty big, it'll be hard to get out in the open. Even if we're careful and the goblins are asleep, the slightest thing can set them off. And in a fortress this big? Well, there' going to be quite a few of those little green bastards!"

Knight chewed her bottom lip and looked at her comrades, silently asking them their opinion. None of them spoke up as they all knew that Hedge Knight had more experience over them. To ignore his advice was to refute the very reason they had asked him to come with them. Apart from Goblin Slayer, Hedge Knight/Aegon was the second most experienced goblin hunter around. They counted themselves lucky he was at the guild before taking the quest.

Swallowing her pride, Knight spoke. "What do you suggest then, Hedge Knight?" she asked.

Aegon nodded and replied, "Me and Ranger go inside and scout the place," he said glancing at Ranger. "If we find the girls and they're still breathing, we get them out while taking care of any goblins that are in the way. Once that's done, we light this place up," he added.

"Just the two of you?" Monk said nervously. "Are you sure about this?" she asked wringing her hands on her staff a little.

"Ranger and I will be able to move more quietly with just us and it'll be easier to dash to the exit we're caught," replied Aegon. "You three can watch the exit for us and if we need to make a quick escape, you can keep us from being cut off," he said. Then looking at Ranger, he asked, "That is if you're up for this?"

Ranger swallowed a lump in her throat before nodding. "Y-Yeah, if you're willing to trust me, then I'm up for it!" she said eagerly.

"I don't know… wouldn't it be safer for me to accompany you two? My fighting ability could prove useful if it comes to it," Knight said touching the pommel of her sword with her hand. It wasn't that she didn't trust Ranger or Aegon/Hedge Knight, she simply didn't want to risk the life of her teammate without being by her side.

"Ranger's small and quick, she won't make a lot of noise wearing armour," Aegon said, scratching his cheek. "It's just to scout out the fortress, no sense in risking the whole party to do just that," he explained. "And I'll be there to make sure Ranger gets back safe and sound, and if we can, we can get those girls out as well," he added.

The group shared a silent look, quelling their emotions and trying to use some common sense. Aegon was right; in a fortress this large, it would be dangerous to explore without knowledge of it. If they went in as a group, there would be a much higher chance of setting off an alarm and if they were caught in a bad spot, their chances at survival would drop dramatically.

Knight nodded and said, "Very well, Mr Hedge Knight. I entrust the life of my teammate to you."

Aegon nodded his thanks before gesturing for Ranger to follow him. "If something goes wrong, make some noise and try to attract the goblins' attention out front, so we can make an easier escape. And keep an up above for any that'll try to shoot down on you," Aegon then told the group as he drew his dirk.

"I pray for your safety," Monk said fervently.

Aegon and Ranger quietly moved through the fortress. It was lucky there was still daylight with the sun shining overhead, providing much needed light. Ranger and Aegon both took turns scouting out traps and alarms and even disabled a few carefully without setting them off. Aegon could only guess that the fortress had such traps built by the previous owners to stop potential sieges and slow down invaders from getting too deep into the fortress. The traps also slowed Aegon and Ranger's progress as they made their way deeper inside.

It also didn't help that Aegon slit the throats of any sleeping goblins they came across.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Ranger hissed at him. "We should keep moving!"

"I'm making sure our exit is clear, you ought to do the same," Aegon countered, shooting the Rhea girl a look. Taking the advice, Ranger cut the throats of the sleeping goblins in front of her, snuffing out their lives before they could utter another snore. It was dirty and gruesome work, but it was better this way as Ranger knew she would receive much worse if the positions were reversed. Goblins weren't known for showing restraint or mercy to their victims, particularly if said victims were female.

Although the progress was slow, the pair were able to make it through the fortress without incident. It was a good thing, but Aegon knew that they hadn't come close to killing all the goblins within the entire place. When they finally came across one of the kidnapped girls' bodies, Aegon was relieved but it was quickly replaced with caution.

"There she is!" Ranger exclaimed in relief and she made to pick the girl's body up but Aegon held her back. "What are you doing? She's right there!" she said.

"Don't be so quick. Take a closer look," Aegon told her. Looking harder, Ranger gasped slightly as she saw a thin metal wire stretched out from under the woman.

"No way!"

"Yeah, pretty standard goblin tactic that," Aegon said grimly as he looked to see if the girl was breathing and he sighed deeply. "She's not breathing… she's… she's gone."

"No… We were too late!" Ranger bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from crying.

"Don't be too hard on yourself," Aegon said to her kindly. "I don't think setting out a few hours earlier would've helped," he sighed, straightening up. "Let's go."

"We're going to leave her like this?" Ranger asked looking at Aegon in shock.

"Trust me. Her parents aren't going to want to see her like this. No parent would," Aegon replied sadly.

Ranger looked at the girl's broken mutilated body and felt remorse. Her hands then tightened into fists as she growled out, "These… damn goblins!"

"Don't worry. We'll make them pay for what they've done. I've got that part sorted," Aegon said coldly, his purple-blue eyes like cold hard gems. Ranger looked at him and nodded. They quietly went out the way they came, taking the path they had made out of the fortress, undisturbed with the goblins they had killed along the way.

"You're back!" Knight said in relief as Aegon and Ranger came out of the fortress. She and her friends quickly noticed that Aegon and Ranger did not have anyone else with them. "Are they…?" she tried to ask hoping it wasn't true.

"It was too late," Aegon said bitterly. "And her body… well it wasn't pretty to look at," he added grimly.

"Damn… that poor girl!" Knight sighed as she gripped the hilt of her sword in frustration.

"Gods…" Monk mumbled, murmuring a silent prayer for the unfortunate victims of the goblins.

"If you wanna get going, I won't stop you," Aegon said to them. "We couldn't rescue the girls after all," he added as he dug through his satchel and pulling out some fire-bottles. "Or… you can stay and we can kill some goblins, make sure no-one else in the village gets the same treatment," he offered as he held out one of the bottles to Ranger. "What say you?" he asked.

Ranger looked at the fire bottle in Aegon's hand then she looked at the fortress, remembering the mutilated girl's body. Rage surged into her belly as she said, "I want to kill them!" she declared angrily as she took the bottle from Aegon's hand.

"We are of same mind," Knight said swiftly. "Leaving the goblins alive would only condemn more to the same fate," she added as she drew her sword.

"Yeah, let's make sure those filthy creatures never do it again!" Wizard said as she gripped her staff and Monk nodded in agreement.

Aegon smiled. "Good to know I won't be doing this alone," he said in dark humour as he hand each girl a fire bottle before pulling out one for himself. "Ready?" he asked them.

Standing in a line facing the fortress, the girls mentally prepared for what was next. Ranger looked at the bottle in her hand and asked, "What do I do with this?"

"Simple; you throw it!" Aegon replied as he lit the rag in his bottle, igniting it before pulling his arm back and threw the bottle, the glass and flames exploding and spreading across the fortress. Lighting the rag of Ranger's fire bottle, Aegon said to her, "Whenever you're ready."

Ranger then threw her bottle and had a satisfied look on her face as she watched how effective the flames were spreading across the fortress. Everyone else did the same.

"They'll know we're here now!" Knight said to her friends. "Ranger, watch the parapets. Wizard, help me watch the gate!" she ordered them.

Ranger pulled out an arrow and nocked it to her bowstring and took aim. Aegon pulled out his goldenheart bow and nocked a shaft to it and watched the parapets, watching for any goblins that would show up. The rumbling of feet and animalistic growls were heard as the goblins woke up from their sleep. Several goblins rose up from the parapets, looking down on the group with their beady yellow eyes, grumbling incoherently.

"See them?" Aegon asked Ranger as he pulled back his bowstring and aimed at the first goblin he saw.

"Got one!" Ranger replied as she loosed an arrow, the missile spearing a goblin through the eye, killing it. Aegon followed suit, firing a shaft and spearing a goblin through the chest, knocking it backwards into the fortress. Ranger killed another goblin with an arrow to the throat, her aim swift and sure. Aegon killed another one, his arrow going through the goblin's throat, nearly severing its head.

"We have goblins up front!" Knight warned them, going into a battle stance. The smoke from the fire was billowing as the flames spread. Aegon had no doubt that the main horde would come out to greet them, to either kill them or make their escape.

"Keep an eye on the parapets for us," Aegon said to Ranger as he holstered his bow and drew Blackfyre, the Valyrian steel blade dark and smoky. Struck with an idea, he looked at Monk and asked her, "Do you have the miracle Protection?"

"Yes, I do. Why?' replied Monk.

"Just thinking of what my partner would in this situation, and I think know what he would do," Aegon said with a smile. "When I tell you, cast the miracle right up at the door," he told her.

"Okay!" Monk said holding her staff in front of her, ready to cast the miracle at Aegon's command.

"What are you planning?" Knight asked Aegon who said, "You'll see in a minute!"

Readying his sword, Aegon then saw the approaching goblins rushing out to meet them through the smoke. "Now!" he ordered Monk.

Monk then chanted the mantra for her miracle, slamming her staff into the ground. _"Protection!"_

A wall of light sprang up at the entrance of the front gate. A few goblins made it past the miracle, but the vast majority were trapped inside the burning fortress. But those goblins that made it outside didn't fare any better.

"Rargh!" Knight roared out, her sword slashing through the first goblin she could reach. Aegon bisected a goblin in half just as another made to sneak up on him, but Wizard dispatched it with a fireball. Aegon nodded his thanks at Wizard before flicking the blood off his sword, wiping the remaining blood with a gloved hand before sheathing it. "Any more of them left?" he asked Ranger.

Ranger fired an arrow at the last goblin on the parapet before replying, "That's the last of them!" she answered, smiling proudly.

"Excellent. That should be the last of them," Aegon said to Knight. "But once the fire dies out, we should take another look around and see if any tried to escape. We know the back entrance was caved in, but some of them may have jumped or dug a hole to escape," he added.

"Right…" Knight muttered, her eyes fixed on the entrance. Wizard and Monk were doing the same. Aegon followed their gaze, seeing the gathering goblins beginning to suffocate and die from the smoke and flames, trapped behind the Protection miracle. The goblins slid to the ground, dying in agony.

"I've never… I've never thought to use a miracle like that," Monk mumbled, swallowing a lump in her throat.

"Just because you use it for one thing, doesn't it can't be used for other things," Aegon told her. "Goblin Slayer once told me that imagination is a weapon, and those who don't use it, often die first," he said. "I can't find it in me to disagree with that," he added knowingly.

The group remained silent, finding it hard to deny Aegon's words. The results spoke for themselves after all.

Aegon watched as the last of the flames died out before drawing his sword again. "C'mon. Let's not give them too much a chance to run off," he said to the group.

Knight nodded in agreement before readying her sword again and said to her friends, "Let's go!"

The party followed suit, the five of them finding and finishing off any goblins that had managed to escape the burning fortress. Once all the surviving goblins were dealt with, they then headed back to the Guild.

…

"Thanks so much for your help, Mr Hedge Knight!" The female party bowed their heads in gratitude to Aegon who smiled at them and replied, "it was no trouble at all, miladies. It's what we're paid to do."

"Still, it was really cool to work with an Emerald ranked adventurer! Thanks for helping those of us down in Steel rank!" Ranger said, giving a friendly jab at Aegon's arm, a bright grin on her face.

"It was an honour to work with you, Mr Hedge Knight. It was a shame things turned out the way they did for those poor girls, but at least those goblins won't be hurting anyone else ever again!" Knight said, resting her hand on her sword.

"We would be honoured if you joined us for another quest, if it isn't too troublesome," Wizard said respectfully.

"Well, if I'm in-between jobs or not waiting on my partner, then I'd be happy to help you all out," said Aegon modestly.

"And I'll keep your advice in mind, next time, Mr Hedge Knight," Monk said. "I'll try to think more creatively with my miracles from now on," she added.

"Good to hear. And that extends to the rest of you as well," Aegon said the female party. "You're smart young ladies with good heads on your shoulders. Make sure you use them," he told them.

"We will, Mr Hedge Knight. And thanks again!" Ranger said as and her friends turned around to leave the guild. Aegon watched the female party leave the guild before heading into the tavern, fishing out a coin from his purse and tossed it onto the bar.

"A pint of ale, please," Aegon said to the barman as he leaned on the bartop.

"Well, well~, if it isn't the ladies' man Hedge Knight slinking his way back in here," a sing-song voice said slyly. Aegon smiled as he over his shoulder to see Padfoot Waitress looking at him her eyes sparkling playfully and her cheeks puffed up.

"I have no idea what you mean, Lady Padfoot," Aegon said to her with a shit-eating grin. "I was simply helping those young ladies in their quest. Nothing more than that," he added innocently.

"Oh, sure~ Betcha had a lot of fun with those girls!" Padfoot Waitress groused grumpily, turning her nose up in the air.

"Well, it wasn't that fun. Pretty standard as goblin quests go, but we didn't get a chance to rescue the victims," Aegon said sombrely. Padfoot Waitress had the good grace to wince in sympathy.

"I guess so," she mumbled forlornly.

"Well, apart from that, wasn't much to it. Those girls were smart enough to ask for help and I was happy to give it to them," Aegon said.

"Sure, I'll bet that's all you gave them!" Padfoot Waitress pouted.

"That's all I did with those girls. Promise," Aegon said sincerely.

"Just like what you did with Iron Maiden?" Padfoot Waitress shot back. Aegon chuckled at the girl's apparent jealously. Since the night he had spent with Iron Maiden, Aegon and said woman had agreed to keep things casual as neither of them were looking for a serious relationship due to their lives as adventurers. It had also become widely discussed that Aegon was now something of a ladies man around the Frontier and jokes were traded amongst everyone. It was a little annoying but it didn't bother Aegon too much; at the very least whenever an adventurer made some joke about Aegon's status as a ladies' man, he simply said that he at least was getting some action which shut them up right quick with blushes on their face.

"What I have with Iron Maiden isn't serious, and you know that," Aegon said to Padfoot Waitress. "I'm not really looking for anything serious to be honest," he added frankly.

"O-Oh? R-really? Why not?" Padfoot Waitress asked, trying not to look worried.

"Well, given in this line of work, risk of death and injury is pretty high, so I wouldn't want to get involved with anyone with them worrying about my health and safety night after night, wondering if I'll come home alive or in a casket," Aegon replied grimly.

"Huh… I guess I understand that," Padfoot Waitress said with a shaky smile. "But if you change your mind about having a relationship, I'm always happy to help with advice!" she added eagerly.

"You'll be the first I'll talk to about it," Aegon said to her with a smile and Padfoot Waitress smiled brightly at him. "Since you're here, would you mind cooking something for me? I could do with some food," Aegon then said.

"Of course! Leave it to me!" Padfoot Waitress skipped off to the kitchen, to cook something for her favourite customer.

After being a served a meal of roasted chicken and potatoes, Aegon sat down to eat when a familiar voice called out to him.

"Yo~ Hedge Knight!" Looking to see Spearman and Witch, along with Heavy Warrior and Female Knight walking over, Aegon smiled at them.

"well, if it isn't the biggest loudmouth on the Frontier?" he japed. "Good day to you, Lady Witch, Ser Warrior and Lady Female Knight," he added.

"Hello… Hedge Knight," Witch replied as she pulled out her pipe from her cleavage and lit it with a spell.

"So, how's the ladies' man of the Frontier doing this fine day?" Heavy Warrior said a joking smile.

"Getting more action than any of you at this rate," Aegon retorted with a grin. Heavy Warrior coughed into his hand awkwardly and Female Knight glance to the side, looking a little embarrassed. Witch simply giggled at Aegon's quick wit before blowing out a puff of smoke.

"Ah, shove it!" Spearman said to Aegon with a grin on his face. "So, back from another goblin hunt? Was it with the stiff this time?" he asked.

"No, with the Female Party," said Aegon. "They were smart enough to ask for help and I happened to be here when they did, so I did the right thing and helped them out on their quest," he explained.

"Oh, the female party, huh?" Spearman said slyly. "Looking to start building your collection?" he sniggered.

"At least I'm getting some. I don't think you've gotten any at all to this date," Aegon shot back.

"You don't know what you're talking about! I can get any girl I want!" Spearman boasted.

"But the girl you want won't look twice at you, will she?" Aegon said slyly.

"We'll see about that, you jerk!" Spearman retorted. "More I show Guild Girl what I'm made of, she'll start to see how much better I am than the stiff!" he declaredproudly.

"She won't hear the end of it, that's for certain," Aegon said dryly. "So, any reason you're all talking to me?" he asked.

"Well, we did come to tell you that there's going to be a local tournament happening here in a couple of weeks," Female Knight replied. "Local adventurers and all that are being invited to participate, and we thought it might be something you'd be interested in," she said.

"Really? What's the tournament?" Aegon asked in interest.

"Just a regular melee tournament," Heavy Warrior answered. "A lot of adventurers of all ranks are likely going to participate to earn a bit of renown and some prize money," he said casually.

"How much is the prize money?" Aegon asked.

"About a hundred gold coins to the winner, and a hundred silver coins to the runner-up," said Female Knight.

"Hmm… nothing to sneeze at, I'll say," Aegon said thoughtfully. "Are any of you participating?" he asked the silver ranked adventurers.

"Not me," Heavy Warrior admitted. "Melee competitions aren't to my taste and I don't feel like showing off," he said.

"Plus we have some jobs to take care in the coming weeks," said Female Knight looking at Heavy Warrior seriously. "And as fun as a melee competition sounds, I'll have to pass," she added seriously.

"What about you, Spearman?" Aegon asked the spear-wielding adventurer.

"Yeah, I thought I might enter," Spearman said with a grin. "Gives me a chance to impress Guild Girl," he boasted. Witch sighed minutely and Aegon, Heavy Warrior and Female Knight glanced at her sympathetically.

"So what about you, Hedge Knight?" Heavy Warrior asked Aegon. "You interested in entering?"

"Well, I could do with some more money, and a hundred gold or silver coins would be useful," Aegon said thoughtfully.

"Well, I wish you good fortune in the tournament, Hedge Knight," Female Knight said to him. "It'll be interesting to see how you fare against fellow adventurers," she added.

"Well, I won't damage them too much. Rather not make any enemies here at the Guild," Aegon replied.

"Can't argue with that," Heavy Warrior said. "We'll talk some more later," he added as he and Female Knight left the tavern to take care of other business.

"Well, I'm looking forward to the tournament. Can't wait to kick your ass in the ring!" Spearman said to Aegon jokingly.

"You're assuming you'll get to," Aegon replied jokingly and Witch giggled at that.

"Yeah, yeah, keep up that tough guy act you got going," Spearman said a laugh. "Won't do you any good once you face me in a fight!" he boasted.

"If you say so," Aegon said.

"Well, I'm gonna head out to train, gotta keep up my skills," Spearman said. "What about you, Witch? You staying?" he asked his companion.

"I need to… refill some… supplies… in town," Witch replied.

"Well, you know where to find me," Spearman said as he left the tavern. Witch stared after her partner and sighed softly.

"Hey, don't worry so much about that guy," Aegon said to her comfortingly and Witch looked at him. "He'll come around eventually. And if he doesn't? Well, he's missing out on something special," he told her with genuine smile.

Witch smiled softly and replied, "Thank you… I appreciate… your words," she said.

"Well, for what it's worth, you're a good woman to be around. Any man would be lucky to have you by their side," Aegon said sincerely.

"Are you… flirting… with me… Hedge Knight?" Witch tittered.

"No," Aegon said with a chuckle. "I can tell you have your heart set on Spearman, but if you ever want to talk about it? I'll be here," he offered.

"I may… just take you… up on that," Witch said with a sincere smile. "Be… seeing you… Ladies' man." She winked flirtatiously at Aegon who rolled his eyes at the nickname. Witch then left the tavern leaving Aegon to his own devices.

…

The couple of weeks passed by with usual routines around the Frontier. Aegon assisted Goblin Slayer in putting down goblin nests and hordes, while also doing some non-goblin related quests on his own. Aegon also took the time to train in the yard in preparation for the Tournament. He also took the time to become acquainted with the rules of the Tournament, as well as get a feel for the competition and there were quite a few contenders entering the Tournament.

Spearman was one of those contenders and with his claim and reputation as being the Strongest on the Frontier, no doubt he would be a favourite to win. Another contender was an adventurer named Amazon Warrior; she was a tall and muscular woman with olive toned skin, dark hair and hazel green eyes and favoured a long handled axe with a large double-headed blade in battle.

There were some other contenders such as Female Ronin; a swordswoman with long indigo coloured hair and favoured a katana in battle and was rumoured to be extremely skilled in battle. Another contender was a male adventurer named Mace Warrior, a young man wearing ornate steel armour and wielded a large heavy looking spiked mace in battle and rumoured to be quite a bully to younger lower ranked adventurers as well as being a sore loser. Other contenders included a mysterious young woman named Female Ninja, a golden-caramel skinned woman with dark hair and wearing a revealing green outfit. Another fighter joining the tournament was a local villager who was the head the Frontier Town's Disciplinary Committee and was named Tough Brawler.

The current champion of the Tournament was someone named Elegant Duellist; a man of elegant appearance and bearing with silver-grey hair, tanned skin and used a fine looking rapier in battle.

Aegon then learned what rules were in place for the Tournament and he wasn't too surprised by them. Magic spells and miracles were forbidden in the matches and lethal blows were also forbidden. Another rule was for no potions that increased skills to be consumed, but healing potions in between matches were allowed. Tactics such as low blows were also prohibited during matches. All in all, it wasn't too much different from what Aegon knew of back home.

Aegon also took the time to prepare what he needed for the Tournament. Blackfyre would serve him well in the fights, but his armour and shield would need a slight upgrade. Aegon had visited the Smith and asked for something suitable for the Tournament and was given some extra armour plates to put onto his armour. They would restrict his mobility slightly, but the added protection would hopefully be enough to serve him well.

…

It was the day of the Tournament, the weeks leading up to this day had been on nearly everyone's minds. The tournament grounds would be just outside of Frontier Town and everything had been set up and ordered. Food and drink was ordered, as well as stands for the people to sit in. The contenders of the Tournament had all prepared for this day. Aegon would quietly admit he was nervous with it being his first ever tournament, but he wouldn't say it out loud for everyone to hear and think him a coward.

Waking up early and dressing himself quickly, Aegon had a quick bite to eat in the Tavern. A simple meal of oatmeal porridge seasoned with honey along with a glass of cold fresh cow's milk to wash it down. A few participants in the Tournaments were also awake and breaking their fast. Some such as Amazon Warrior were eating large meals with no apparent nervousness, others such as Female Samurai and Female Ninja were eating much more conservative meals slowly and calmly. And other contenders weren't eating at all and looked jittery and nervous.

As Aegon broke his morning fast, he was greeted by Padfoot Waitress. "Mr Hedge Knight, are you nervous?" the dog-eared girl asked him anxiously.

"Not too much, no," Aegon said half-truthfully, although the smile he had on his face indicated otherwise.

"I'll be rooting for you out there!" Padfoot Waitress said to him.

Aegon sighed and replied, "Thank you, milady. I appreciate that." A more confident smile graced his lips and Padfoot Waitress then went into the kitchen and returned with something in her hands and held it to Aegon. In her hands was a blue ribbon.

"What's this?" Aegon asked her. Padfoot Waitress bit her lip nervously before saying, "It's something for good luck in the Tournament. I heard some girls do this sometimes to give luck to warriors in tournaments," she said nervously. "If you don't want it…" she added.

"No. I'll gladly accept it," Aegon said quickly. "I feel a little luckier already," he added as he took the ribbon from Padfoot Waitress's hand and tied the ribbon to the hilt of Blackfyre. Padfoot Waitress smiled brilliantly before she quickly pressed a kiss to Aegon's cheek.

"I'll be cheering for you," she whispered to him before heading into the kitchen. Aegon touched the spot where he felt the girl's lips touch his cheek and smiled softly.

Then walking into the tavern was Goblin Slayer along with a young woman with reddish hair and wearing a white shirt with overalls.

"Hey," Goblin Slayer greeted Aegon who replied, "Good morning my friend. Are you here to watch the Tournament? Or are you here for a goblin quest?" he asked the armoured adventurer.

"There were no goblin quests today," Goblin Slayer replied and although his voice didn't give anything away, Aegon could tell that his partner was a little dismayed that there were no goblin quests.

"I see, and who is your fine young lady friend?" Aegon asked looking at the young woman beside Goblin Slayer.

"This is Cow Girl. An old friend of mine," Goblin Slayer said.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mr Hedge Knight," Cow Girl greeted Aegon brightly. "Goblin Slayer told me much about you," she then said.

"All good, I hope?" Aegon asked.

"As much as he says, yes," Cow Girl said with a giggle and Aegon chuckled, knowing full well that Goblin Slayer did not say much at all. But it was a good thing to meet someone who was friends with Goblin Slayer.

"So, you're taking part in the Tournament?" Cow Girl asked Aegon who nodded and replied, "Aye, I am. I thought it would be some fun and a way to take my mind off adventuring for a while," he said.

"I would've asked Goblin Slayer if he was going to participate, but well…" Cow Girl looked at Goblin Slayer who shrugged.

"Tournaments aren't for everyone, I will say that, but at least you could watch from the stands," Aegon said.

"Yeah, exactly!" said Cow Girl. "Me and Goblin Slayer will be cheering you on!" she promised.

"Thank you, that means a lot to me, Lady Cow Girl," Aegon said with a sincere smile.

"I hope you win," Goblin Slayer said to Aegon.

"I hope so too."

Finishing off the last of his porridge and milk, Aegon sighed before picking up his sword and shield and stood from his chair and prepared to head to the Tournament grounds. Some other competitors followed suit, finishing off their meals and picking up their weapons and prepared to leave the Guild for the Tournament grounds.

Aegon stopped at the door and took in a deep breathe before exhaling slowly. Opening the door, Aegon left the Guild and headed to the Tournament grounds.

…

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

**A/N: There! After a long wait, I finally updated this! I was struggling for a while of where to go next in this story, but then I was struck with some inspiration and logical that would fit both Game of Thrones/ASOIAF and Goblin Slayer; a tournament! Tournaments/tourneys are a common enough thing in the GoT/ASOIAF world and I figured they would fit the Goblin Slayer world as well, plus it would also help bring in some other characters from the Goblin Slayer world into this story as well as debut some original characters, along with doing something original, so it worked out well.**

**This will be part one of the Tournament arc and I don't imagine this arc will be very long but it's something fun for everyone involved and I hope you all enjoy this little arc/side story.**

**In other news, a story I'm working, my GoT/Highschool of the Dead crossover story is progressing nicely enough and I've some crossover aspects such as Ciri from the Witcher series into it. I'm also planning on crossing over with the Fallout game series and I've set up a voting poll of which Fallout game/setting should be used and so far, Fallout 4 is the lead favourite which would work out well as I've got some ideas for the Fallout 4 storyline that I feel would be good, as well as fix some things in the original Fallout 4 game. But if anyone wants to see a different Fallout game or an original Fallout setting instead, then feel free to cast your vote.**

**Anyway, haven't got much more to say, so I'll just leave this here and I'll see you all in the next one.**

**Be kind to one another,**

**Angry lil' elf.**


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